n 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


UNIVERSITY  of  CALIFORNIA 

AT 

LOS  ANGELES 

UBRARt 


story  of  the  Nations 

A  Series  of  Historical  Studies  intended  to  present  in 
graphic  narratives  the  stories  of  the  different 
nations  that  have  attained  prominence  inhistory. 


In  the  story  form  the  current  of  each  national 
life  is  distinctly  indicated,  and  its  picturesque  and 
noteworthy  periods  and  episodes  are  presented  for 
the  reader  in  their  philosophical  relations  to  each 
Other  as  well  as  to  universal  history. 


12°,  Illustrated,  cloth,  each        .     net  $1.50 
Half  Leather,  each     .        .        .     net   $1-75 


VOS  FULL  UST  SEE  END  OF  THIS  VOLUME. 


MEDI/EVAL  FRANCE 


I'roHlispiccc-.  l'i-.glim:  si.  i  iiai'KLLK,  PARIS. 


Libra-  • 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  NATIONS 


Mediaeval  France 


FROM  THE  REIGN  OF  HUGUES  CAPET 
TO  THE   BEGINNING  OF  THE 
SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 


BY 

gustave  masson,  b,a. 

UNIV.  GALLIC,  OFFICIER  d'aCAD^MIE,  MEMBER  OF  THE  SOClfixi  DE  l'hISTOIRE 
DE  FRANCE,  ASSISTANT  MASTER  AND  LIBRARIAN  O?  HARROW  SCHOOL 


»     I  f,  I  I  ?-     ■>  *■%  »•*♦       *    »   -  a       »         >   >»ar  -J,    3>,    '.  i'-      > 


NEW  YORK 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

LONDON:  T.  FISHER  UNWIN 

1901 


4955 1 


Copyright 
By  G.  p.  Putnam's  Sons 

1888 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 

By  T.  Fisher  Unvvin 


^0 

MY  FRIEND  AND   COLLEAGUE, 

M.    GUSTAVE    RUAULT, 

THE  FOLLOWING   VOLUxME   IS  AFFECTIONATELY   DEDICATED, 

GUSTAVE  MASSON. 


PREFACE. 


''The  story  of  a  nation,"  we  conceive,  is  read, 
not  only  in  its  political  annals,  in  the  records  of  the 
battle-field,  and  the  details  of  treaties  of  peace ;  but 
in  its  social  life,  in  the  development  of  commerce, 
industry,  literature,  and  the  fine  arts.  Accordingly, 
whilst  attempting  throughout  the  following  pages  to 
give  the  history  of  Mediaeval  France,  we  have  allowed 
a  large  share  to  what  may  be  called  the  intellectual 
side  of  the  subject,  more  especially  to  the  formation 
and  progress  of  national  literature.  Without  pre- 
tending to  exhaust  the  topic,  we  have  illustrated  it  by 
extracts  from  several  authors,  accompanied,  whenever 
necessary,  by  a  translation  in  English.  The  reader 
will  thus  be  able  to  follow  at  the  same  time  the 
development  of  the  language  ;  and  the  glossary  at 
the  end  of  the  volume  will  help  him  to  understand 
the  archaisms  used  in  the  original  passages  quoted  in 
the  text. 

We  have  consulted  the  best  sources  for  the  prepa- 
ration of  this  work,  especially  the  histories  of  Messrs. 
Michelet,  Duruy,  Bordier  and  Charton,  Demolins,  and 


X  PREFACE. 

Cheruel  ("  Dictionnaire  des  institutions,  moeurs  et 
coutumes  de  la  France "),  and  we  trust  that  it  may- 
nut  be  found  unworthy  of  the  series  of  which  it  forms 
a  part. 

GUSTAVE  MASSON. 
Harrow-on-the-Hill, 
Marc/i,  1888. 


CONTENTS. 


Chronological  Table 


PAGE 

xxii 


Sources    to    Consult    on    the    History    of 
France  from  Hugues  Capet  to  Louis  XII. 


XXXI 


Chronological  List  of  all  the  Chancellors 
OF  France  from  the  Beginning  of  the 
Capetian  Dynasty  to  the  Reign  of 
Louis  XII. 


XXXV 


Genealogy  of  the  Capetian  Kings  of  France 
to  the  Reign  of  Louis  XII.     . 


Genealogy  of  the  Capetian  Kings  of  France 


xl 


A  Tabular  View  of  the  States- General 
from  their  Commencement  to  the  Reign 
of  Louis  XII.  inclusive    .... 


xlii 


Xll  CONTENTS. 


The  First  Four  Capetian  Kings  (987-1108).          i- 

The  society  of  the  sixth  century,  3 — Feudal  system,  5 — Feu- 
dal fortresses,  7 — Feudal  dues,  9 -Vassals  and  serfs,  11 — 
Warlike  prelates,  13 — The  Church,  15— Attitude  of  the  serfs, 
17— Robert  of  Normandy;  Foulques  Nerra,  19— PhUip  I.,  21. 


r 


II. 

Pilgrimages   to  the   Holy  Land — The  Cru- 
sades— Chivalry         .....       22-46 

Council  of  Clermont,  23-  The  Crusaders  in  Asia,  27 — "  Assi 
ses  de  Jerusalem,"  29— Results  of  the  Crusades,  31— Chivalry, 
33— Heraldry,  35— Early  French  literature,  38— Subjects 
treated  by  poets,  39  — Chanson  de  Castes,  40— Sirventes,  41 
—  Bertram  de  Born,  42— Robe. t  Waco,  43 — "Roman  de 
Rou,  '  44 — Richard  the  Pilgrim,  45— Philip  I.,  46. 


III. 

Louis    VL  —  Louis    VIL  —  The    Communal 

Movement  — Scholasticism  (\io8-ii8o)     .       47-68 

The  communal  movement,  49 — Commune  de  Beauvais,  t;i  — 
France  and  England,  55 — France  and  the  Papacy,  57 — 
Second  Crusade,  59 — Suger,  61 — Guild  of  Paris  merchants, 
63 —University  of  Paris,  05— Louis  VL,  66 — Abelard,  67. 


IV. 

Philip  Augustus— Thk  Crusades— The  Albi- 

genses— Louis  VIIL  (i  180-1226)      .  69-89 

Richard  Crrur  de  Lion,  71— Battle  of  Bouvines,  73-75 — Foul- 
ques of  Neuilly,  77— Conquest  of  Constantinople,  81— Philip 
Augustus,  82 — Crusade  against  the  Alb'genses,  83 — Heretics 
and  infidels,  85 — France  under  interdict,  87. 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

I'AGE 
V. 

Saint  Louis,  to  his  Return  from  his  First 

Crusade  (1226-1254)         ....     90-108 

Louis  IX.,  91 — Joinville,  93 — The  English  in  France,  95 
— Louis  IX.  and  the  Crusade,  97 — ^Joinville  and  Villehar- 
douin,  99 — Battle  of  Mansurah,  100 — The  plague,  loi — The 
Queen  of  France,  102 — The  French  leave  Egypt,  104 — Death 
of  Blanche  of  Castile,  105— The  Pastoureaux,  106— The 
Master  of  Hungary.  107. 


VI. 

Saint  Louis  ;  End  of  the  Reign— Litera- 
ture, Arts,  and  Sciences  during  the 
Thirteenth  Century  (1254-1270)    .         ,  109-132 

Law  reforms,  no,  iii — St.  Louis  as  a  judge,  113  — Roads; 
Coinage,  114 — Trade  and  industry,  115,  116 — Administration 
'and  government,  117 — Foundations  created  by  Saint  Louis, 
118 — Saint  Louis  starts  for  another  crusade,  119 — Literature, 
120 — "  Chansons  de  Geste,"  121 — "Roman  de  la  Rose,"  122 
— Rutebeuf;  Marie  de  France,  123 — The  drama,  124 — Thi- 
baut  de  Champagne,  125 — Pulpit  eloquence,  126 — Church 
architecture,  127 — The  fine  arts,  130  — Music,  131 — Industrial 
arts,  132. 


VII. 

Philip  ILL— Philip  IV.  (1270-1314)        .         .   133-152 

Philip  III.  ;  Charles  d'Anjou,  134 — The  Sicilian  Vespers,  135 
—  Philip  III.  makes  war  with  Spain,  136 — Pierre  de  la  Brosse, 
137 — Mary  of  Brabant,  138 — Philip  IV.,  139 — Low  state  of 
the  exchequer,  140 — Philip  IV.  and  the  English,  141 — Philip 
IV.  and  the  Flemings,  142 — Battle  of  Courtrai,  143 — Philip 
IV.  and  the  Church,  144 — Arrest  of  Bernard  Saisset,  145— Bull 
"  Ausculta,  Fili,"  146 — Guillaume  de  Nogaret,  147 — Popes 
Boniface  VIII.   and  Benedict  XL,  148 — The  Knights-Temp- 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

lar,  149 — "Roman  de  Fauvel,"  150 — States-General  of  1302, 
151 — Fifty-four  knights  burnt  to  death,  152. 


VIII. 

Philip    the    Fair  —  Louis    X.  —  Philip    V. — 

Charles  IV. — Philip  VI.  (1314-1328)      .  153-170 

The  Paris  ParHament,  154 — ^Jean  Buridan,  155 — Louis  X.,  le 
Hutin,  156 — Enguerrand  de  Marigny,  157 — The  Sahc  law, 
158 — Reform  of  the  aristocracy,  159 — ^Jews  and  Lepers,  160 — 
Charles  le  Bel,  161 — Severity  of  the  Paris  Parliament,  162 — 
The  Hundred  Years' War,  163 — Rebellion  in  Flanders?  164 — 
Battle  of  Cassel,  165 — Defeat  of  the  Flemings,  166 — Froissart, 
167-9 — Sir  John  Bourchier  on  history,  170. 


IX. 

Philip    VI.     (concluded)  —  The     Hundred 

Years'  War  (1328-1350)   .         .  .   171-187 

The  Brewer  Arteveldt,  172 — The  Duchy  of  Brittany,  173 — 
Charles  of  Blois,  174 — Siege  of  Hennebon,  175 — Truce  of 
1346,  176 — Death  of  Clisson,  177 — The  English  in  France,  178 
■ — Battle  of  Cressy,  179 — The  Genoese  archers,  180 — Death  of 
the  King  of  Bohemia,  181 — Siege  of  Calais,  182 — Eustachede 
Saint  Pierre,  183 — Calais  an  English  colony,  184 — The  black 
death,  185 — Philip's  home  administration,  186 — Territorial 
acquisitions,  187. 


X. 

John  II. — The  Hundred  Years'  War  (con- 
tinued)—  Etienne  Marcel  —  The  Jac- 
QUERik  (1350-1364)    188-209 

Charles  le  Mauvais,  189 — The  States-General,  190 — Financial 
measures,  191 — Battle  of  Poitiers,  192 — Errors  and  bravery  of 
the  king,  193 — King  John  surrenders,  194 — The  French  king 


CONTENTS*  XV 

PAGE 

in  England,  196 — Travels  to  Windsor,  197 — Marcel  and 
Lecoq,  19S — "  La  grande  ordonnance,"  199 — Revolution  in 
Paris,  200 — Reaction  in  the  provinces,  201 — Jacques  Bon- 
homme,  202 — Marcel  and  Charles  le  Mauvais,  203 — Murder 
of  Etienne  Marcel,  204 — State  of  France,  205 — Le  Grand 
Ferre,  206 — The  English  at  Longueil,  207 — Peace  of  Bretigny, 
208 — Death  of  the  king,  209. 


XI. 

Charles  V.  the   Wise,  and    First    Part    of 

THE  Reign  of  Charles  VI.  (1364-1392)  .  210-233 

Authorities  for  the  reign  of  Charles  V.  ,211 — Battles  of  Cocherel 
and  Auray,  213 — The  "  grandes  compagnies,"  215 — English 
and  French,  217 — Duguesclin,  218 — Budget  of  Charles  V., 
220 — Political  writings,  221 — The  Duke  d'Anjou,  222 — 
Council  of  regency,  223 — -Charles  \T.in  Paris,  224 — The  Duke 
d'Anjou,  225 — The  Maillotins,  226 — General  rising  of  the  peo- 
ple, 227 — Battle  of  Roosebeke,  228 — The  Maillotins,  229— 
The  Marmousets,  230 — Attempt  upon  Clisson,  232 — Charles 
VL  struck  with  madness,  233. 


XII. 

Second  Part  of   the  Reign  of  Charles  VI. 

(1392-1422)         234-253 

Isabelle  of  Bavaria,  235— Murder  of  the  Duke  d'Orleans,  236 
—Death  of  Valentine  Visconti,  237  —  Eustache  Deschamps, 
238  —  Alain  Chartier  ;  Christine  de  Pisan,  239 — Burgundians 
and  Armagnacs,  240 — Battle  of  Azincourt,  242 — Severe  losses 
of  the  French,  243— Fresh  massacres  in  Paris,  244 — Capitula- 
tion of  Rouen,  245 — The  Duke  of  Burgundy  murdered,  246 — 
Treaty  of  Troyes,  247 — The  Dauphin  retires  behind  the  Loire, 
248— Death  of  Henry  V.  and  Charles  VL,  249— Affairs  of  the 
Church,  250— Pierre  d'Ailly,  251 — "  Apparition  de  Maistre 
Jehan  de  Meung,"  252 — Nicolas  de  Clemangis,  253. 


r 


Xvi  CONTENTS. 

PAGS 

XIII. 

Charles  VIL — End  of  the  Hundred  Years' 

War  (1422-1461) 254-280 

Battles  of  Cravant  and  of  Verneuil,  255 — -Strengthening  the 
power  of  Charles  VII.,  256 — Siege  of  Montargis,  257 — Siege  of 
Orleans,  258 — "Battle  of  the  Herrings,"  260 — Joan  of  Arc, 
262-5 — Battle  of  Patay,  266 — Capture  of  Joan  of  Arc,  267 — 
Coronation  of  Henry  VI.,  268 — Conference  at  Arras,  269 — 
Richemont  enters  Paris,  270— Character  of  Charles  VIL,  271 
— End  of  the  war,  272 — The  "  Praguerie,"  273 — "Ordon- 
nanced'Orleans,'  274 — The  "Francs-archers," 275 — Financial 
reforms,  277  — Death  of  Charles  VIL,  278 — Jacques  Caur, 
279. 

XIV. 

Louis  XI.  (1461-1483) 281-3C3 

Louis  XL  and  feudalism,  284 — Character  of  Louis  XL,  281; — 
Coronation  of  Louis  XL,  286 — League  of  the  common  weal, 
287 — Battle  of  Montlhsry,  288— France  and  Burgundy,  290 — 
Louis  XL  at  Peronne,  291 — Cardinal  Balue,  292 — Charles  the 
Bold  invades  Picardy,  293 — Death  of  the  Duke  de  Guienne, 
294  —  Jeanne  Hachette,  295 — The  baronial  houses  give 
way,  298 — Breaking  up  of  the  feudal  system,  299 — Battle  of 
Guinegate,  300 — Death  of  Louis  XL,  301 — Non-political  re- 
forms, 302 — Progress  of  France  under  Louis  XL,  303. 

XV. 
Charles     VIII.     (1483-1498)  —  Louls     XII. 

(1498-1515)        304-325 

"  La  Grande  Dame,"  305 — The  Duke  d'Orleans,  306 — Rebel- 
lion against  Anne  de  Beaujeu,  307 — Battle  of  Saint  Aubin  du 
Cormier,  308 — Charles  VIIL,  309 — Situation  of  Italy,  310 — 
Charles  VIIL  invades  Italy,  311 — Battle  of  Fornovo,  312 — 
Death  of  Charles  VIIL,  314 — Character  of  Louis  XIL,  315 — 
Lodovico  il  Moro,  316 — Battle  of  Garigliano,  317 — League 
against  France,  319 — Battle  of  Ravenna,  320 — Death  of  Louis 
XIL,  322 — Administration,  323 — "The  Father  of  the  Peo- 
ple," 324^Georges  Cardinal  d'Amboisc,  325. 


CONTENTS. 


XVll 


XVI. 

Intellectual  Life  of  the  Fifteenth  Cen- 
tury— Liieraturf,  The  Drama,  Industry 
— Concluding  Remarks    ....  326-342 

Poetry;  Rutebeuf,  Villon,  327  — Historians;  Monstrelet,  328 
— Chastellain  ;  Basin,  329  — Coaimines,  330 — Louis  XI.  and 
Commines,  331 — Tales;  "  Les  cent  nouvelles  nouvelles," 
332 — The  drama,  333 — The  Basoche  ;  "  Enfants  sans  souci," 
334 — Pierre  Gringore,  335 — Art  of  printing,  336 — Architec- 
ture, 337 — Painting,  338 — Playing  cards,  339 — Industry  and 
commerce,  340 — The  Renaibsance,  341 — The  Reformation, 
342. 


Glossary  of  Medieval  Words 
Index        


343 
347 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

CHAPELLE   DU    CHATEAU    DE   VINCENNES  .  Frontispiece 

CHATEAU   OF    MONTLHERY          8 

A    KNIGHT    OF    MEDIEVAL    FRANXE       ....  lO 

GODFREY   OF    BOULOGNE    IN    THE    MOVING   TOWER             .  25 

KING   OF   THE   TENTH    CENTURY       .           .           .           .           •  32 

KNIGHT   AND    ARMS 34 

TOURNAMENT 37 

SEAL  OF  LOUIS  VI 47 

CATHEDRAL  OF   NOYON 5° 

SEAL  OF  TOULOUSE  COMMUNE  (OBVERSE  AND  REVERSE)  53 

FIGURE   OF   SUGER    IN    CHURCH   WINDOW          .           .           ,  60 

SEAL   OF   ST.    BERNARD 7^ 

THE   VOWING   OF   A   CHURCH 79 

SEAL  OF   SIMON   DE  MONTFORT 84 

PARIS   UNDER   PHILIPPE   AUGUSTE 87 

WALLS   OF   CARCASSONNE 89 


XX  LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGF. 

SAINT   LOUIS 92 

SAINT  LOUIS   STARTS    FOR  THE  CRUSADE         ...  98 

SAINT   LOUIS   IN   PRISON I03 

SAINT   LOUIS    RENDERS   JUSTICE 112 

SEAL  OF   LOUIS   IX II7 

TROUBADOURS 122 

SAINT   VVULFRAN,    A   ABBEVILLE 1 28 

NOTRE   DAME   OF    PARIS I29 

FROISSART 169 

FRONT   ENTRANCE   OF   NOTRE   DAME,    AT   POITIERS          .  195 

CORONATION   OF  CHARLES  V 212 

STATUE   OF  DUGUESCLIN 214 

TOMB   OF   DUGUESCLIN 2l6 

VIEW  OF  THE   BASTILE     .......  219 

CHARLES  VI 231 

HEAD-DRESS    OF  THE   FIFTEENTH    CENTURY  .           .           .  24I 

BATTLE   OF  AZINCOURT 243 

CAPTURE  OF  TROVES 246 

THE  OLD   LOUVRE 248 

SIEGE  OF  ORLEANS 259 

STATUE  OF  JOAN  OF  ARC         ...           .           c          .  261 

MEDAL   OF  JOAN   OF  ARC 265 

STATUE  OF  JOAN   OF  ARC 268 

PORTRAIT   OF   JACQUES   CCEUR 276 


LIST   OF  JLLU5TRATI0.\S. 


XXI 


KING   REn6 282 

JEANNE  DE   LAVAL 283 

PHILIP  THE  GOOD   AND   CHARLES   THE   BOLD            .           .  289 

GATE  OF  THE  PALACE,    NANCY 297 

CATHEDRAL  OF  REIMS 299 

BATTLE   OF   FORNOVO 313 

CHEVALIER    BAYARD .  318 

MOUNT   ST.    MICHAEL      • 32 1 

PHILIP   DE  COMMINES 330 


XXll 


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SOURCES   TO   CONSULT  ON   THE   HISTORY  OF 

FRANCE    FROM    HUGUES   CAPET 

TO    LOUIS   XH. 


THE    CAPETIAXS. 


I  Glaber  (Raoul),  d.  about  1046.  His  chronicle  extends  from  900 
to  1044. 

1  Richer,  loth  century.  "  Richeri  Historiarum,''  IV.  hbri,  888—995. 
Invaluable  for  the  history  of  that  time. 

I  Helgaud,  (/.  1048?  "Epitome  vit?e  Robeiti  regis,"  997  —  1031. 
Written  in  a  detestable  style,  and  too  much  as  a  panegyric  ; 
but  interesting. 

I  Adalberon,  Bishop  of  Laon,  d.  1030?  103 1  ?  Satirical  poem  in- 
scribed to  the  king. 

I  Eudes,  monk  of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Maur  des  Fosses.  Life  of  Bou- 
chard (Burckhardt),  Count  of  Melun  and  Corbeil,  950—1058. 

I  Hugues  de  Sainte  Marie,  monk  of  Fleury  (St.  Benoit-sur-Loire), 
nth  century.      "  Chronicon  Floriacense,"  — 1108. 

1  Hugues  de  Poitiers,  12th  century.  "  Histoire  du  Monastere  de 
V^zelai,"  Books  ii.— iv.,  1140—1x67.     Interesting  details. 

I  Guibert  de  Xogent,  1053— 1124.  "  Gesta  Dei  per  Francos  "  (His- 
tory of  the  First  Crusade)  ;  "  de  vita  sua."  One  of  the  best  of 
mediaeval  chronicles. 

I  Guillaume  de  St.  Thierry.     1  ^  .,      ,  „      „  ,      ,.,,/-,- 

,  ,   ,    D  ,  '  Life  of  St.    Bernard,  abbot  of  Clair- 

I  ArnauQ  de  Bonneval.  ( 

r-       cr      •  J      /-I    •  )        VaUX,    I09I— II53. 

I  Georfioide  Clairvaux.  •'  <      y  ^^ 

I  Rigord,  d.  1207?  "Life  of  Philip  Augustus,"  1165 — 1208.  For  the 
history  of  the  first  thirty  years  of  the  reign  this  work  is  incom- 
parably the  best. 

I  Guillaume  le  Breton  {Gidielmus  Britd),  1150? — 1226.  Continua- 
tion of  the  previous  work,  1208 -1223,  "  Philippidos,  ■  libri 
xii.,  an  historical  poem  of  great  interest. 

I  Nicolas  de  Bray,  1 160?— 1230?"  Gesta  Ludovici  VIII."  Historical 
poem. 


XXxii         SOURCES  FOR   HISTORY   OF  FRANCE, 

1,2  Guillaume   de  Nangis.     "Chronicon,"   from    the  creation  of  the 

world  to  1301,  continued  by  other  monks  of  Saint  Denis  to  1368. 
I  Pierre   de   Vaulx-Cernay,   13th    century.      Chronicle   of  the   war 

against  the  Albigensas. 
I  Guillaume  de   Pny  Laurens,   1210? — 1295.     Chronicle  of  the  war 

against  the  Albigenses. 
I  Simon  de  Montfort.       Under  that  name  a  chronicle  exists  called 

''  Des  gestes  glorieux  des  Franqais,  '  1202 — 1311. 
I  Guillaume   de   Tyr,    1130? — 1190?      "Historic   des    Croisades," 

1095 — 1184.     Most  interesting. 
1,2  Ernoul  and  Bernard  le  tr&orier.     Chronicle,  1201 — 1231. 
I  Albert  (or  Alberic)  d'Aix,  12th  century.        "Chronicon   Hieroso- 

lymitanum,"  1095 — 1120. 
I  Raimond  d'Agiles.     Interesting  account  of  the  First  Crusade,  1096 

— iroo. 
I  Jacques  de  Vitry,  d.  1240.     "  Historia  Orientalis,    Historia  Occi- 

dentalis.'' 
I  Raoul  de  Caen,  12th  century.    "  Gesta  Tancredi,"  — 1105.    (First 

Crusade.) 
1  Robert   le    Moine,    1055— 1 122.        "  Historia    Hierosolymitana." 

(First  Crusade.) 
I  Foulcher  de  Chartres.     "  History  of  the  Crusades,"  1095 — 1127. 
I  Odon  de  Dueil,  d.  1162.     Wrote  a  history  of  the  expedition  of 

Louis  VII.  in  Palestine,  1146 — 1148. 
1,2  Orderic  Vital,   1075 — 1142.     His  ecclesiastical  history  abounds  in 

interesting  details  on  the  state  of  society  in  the  nth  and  12th 

centuries. 
I  Guillaume    de    Jumi^ges,    nth    century.       "Historia    Nornian- 

norum,"  850 — 1137. 
I  Guillaume  de  Poitiers,  nth  century.      "Gesta  Gulielmei  Duels" 

(William  the  Conqueror),  — 1070. 
3  Guillaume  Anelier.     History  of  the  war  in  Navarre,  1276,  77. 
Pud-      , 

sefia-      I  "  ^'"''^"'i^s  Chroniques  de  France,"  376—1381. 
rately.  ) 
2,4,5,6  Geoffroi  de  Villehardouin,  1155?— 1213.   "  La  Conqueste  de  Con- 
stantinoble."    The  earliest  chronicle  written  in  French,  1198 — 
1207. 
4,6  Henry  de  Valenciennes.     Continues  Villehardouins  chronicle. 
3  Cuvelier,  14th  century.     A  metrical  history  of  Duguesclin. 
6  "  Chronique  Metrique  de  Saint  Magloire,  1223 — 1292. 
6  "  Chronique  Metrique  d'Adam  de  la  Halle,''  1282? 
6  Guillaume    Guiard,    13th    century.       "  La    Branche   des    royaux 

Lignages.''     A  rhymed  chronicle,  1165 — 1306. 
6  Godefroi    de    Paris.      "  Chronique  Metrique  de  Philippe  le  Bel," 
1300 — 1316. 


FROM   HUGUES   CAPET    TO   LOUIS   XII.     xxxiii 

2,4,5  Le  Sire  de  Joinville,  1224 — 1319.  "Vie  de  Saint  Louis. "  Charming 
by  its  style,  its  grace,  and  its  simplicity. 
2,6  Jean    Froissart,    1337  — 1410.        Chronique,     1326 — 1400.        The 
chronicler /czr  excellence. 

The  Valois 
2,4,5  Christine  de  Pisan,  1363?— 1431.      "  Le   Livre  des  faits  et  bonnes 
moeurs  dii  sage  roy  Charles  (V.)."    Authentic  and  interesting, 
but  too  pompous  in  style,  1336 — 1380. 

2  "  La  Chronique  du  bon  Due  Louis  de  Bourbon,"  1360 — 1410. 

4.5  "  Le  livre  des  faicts  dubon  Messire  Jean  le  Maingre,  dit  Mareschal 

de  Boucicaut,"  1368 — 1421. 

3  "Chronique  du  Religieux  de  Saint  Denis,"  1380— 1422. 

4  Jean  Juvenal  des  Ursins,  1388— 1473.      "  Histoire  de  Cliarles  VI., 

roi  de  France,"  1380— 1422. 

2.6  Enguerrand  de  Monstrelet,  1390?— 1453.    Chronique,  1400-  144 1- 

Tedious   when   compared   to   Froissart,    but  valuable  for  its 
accuracy  and  completeness. 
2,6  Lefevre  de  Saint  Remy,  1394— 1468.     Memoires,  1407 — 1435. 

2.4.5  r*ierre  de  Fenins.     Memoires,  1408 — 1425. 

4  "Journal  dun  bourgeois  de  Paris  sous  le  regne  de  Charles  VI," 

1408 — 1422. 
7  Guillaume  Cousinot.      "  Chronique  de  la  Pucelle,"  1422 — 1429. 
7  Pierre  Cochon,  — 1443.      "Chronique  Xormande,"  1118 — 1430. 
7  Jean  Chartier,    — 1462.       "Chronique  de  Charles  VII.",    1422  — 

1461. 
4,5  Th.  Godefroi.      "  Histoire  d'Artus  III.,  Due  de  Bretaigne,  Comte 

de  Richemont,  et  connetable  de  France,"  1413 — 1457. 

4.5  Th.  Godefroi.      "  Memoires  relatifs  a  Florent,  Sire  d'lUiers." 

4.6  "Journal   dun   bourgeois  de  Paris  sous  le  regne  de  Charles  VII," 

1422  -1449. 
4,5  Olivier  de  la  Marche,    1426—1502.     Memoires,  ler  et  2nd  Hvres, 
1435— 1488. 

4.5  Olivier  de  la  Marche.      "  S'ensuyt    letat    de   la    maison    du    Due 

Charles  de  Bourgogne,  dit  le  Hardi,  1474. 

4.5.6  Jacques   du    Clercq,    1420—,   seigneur   de    Beauvoir   en    Ternois. 

Memoires,  1448 — 1467. 

2.6  Mathieu   d'Escouchy   (or   de   Courcy).      Chronique,     1444— 1461. 

Continuator  of  Monstrelet. 
2,4,5  Philippe  de  Commines,  1445-   1509      Memoires,  1464— 1498.    The 
first  French  author  who  has  written  history  with  the  depth  and 
sagacity  of  a  man  accustomed  to  political  life. 
4,5  "  Chronique  Scandaleuse,"  1460— 1483.     On  the  life  of  Louis  XI. 
Does  not  deserve  the  title  under  which  it  is  known. 
2  Thomas   Basin,    1412—1491.     "Histoire  de  Charles  VII.,  et  de 
Louis  XI."     Written  in  Latin  ;  most  valuable. 


XXxiv       SOURCES   FOR    HISTORY   OF  FRANCE. 

3  Jean  Masselin,  — 1500.     "Journal  des  ^tats  generaux  de  1484." 
4,5  Guillaume  de  Villeneuve.     Memoires,  1494 — 1497.     Very  curious 

memoirs. 
4,5  Jean    Boucher,    1476— 1550?      "  Panegyrique   du  Chevalier   sans 

reproche,"  1460— 1525. 

2.4  "  Le    Loyal   Serviteur."      Tr6s  joyeuse,    plaisante,    et   recreative 

histoire  du  bon  chevalier  sans  paour  et  sans  reproche,  1476 — 

1520.     A  masterpiece. 
6  George  Chastellain,   1403—1475.     "  Chronique  du  bon  chevalier 

Jacques  de  Lalaing,"  1430— 1453. 
6  George   Chastellain.       "  Declaration   de   tons  les  hautz   faitz   et 

glorieuses  adventures  du  due  Philippe  de  Bourgogne,"  1464 — 

1470. 
5  Jean  Molinet,  — 1507.     Chronique,  1470 — 1506. 

The  Valois-Orl^ans. 

4.5  Robert  de  la  Marck,  seigneur  de  Fleuranges,  1491  — 1537.      "  His- 

toire des  choses  memorables  advenures  du  reigne  de  Louis  XII. 
et  Fran9ois  I.,''  1499 — 1521.  Interesting  memoirs,  but 
written  too  much  in  a./a/i/aron  style. 


The  foregoing  list  comprises  the  principal  chronicles  and  memoirs 
published  in  the  collections  edited  by  : — i.  M.  Guizot.  2.  Le  SociM  de 
I' histoire  de  France.  3  The  French  Government  ("  Documents  in^dits  "). 
4  MM.  Michaud  and  Poujoulat.  5  MM.  Petitot  and  Monmerque. 
6  M.  Buchon.     7  M.  Jannet  ("  Bibliotheque  Elzevirienne"). 


CHRONOLOGICAL  LIST  OF  ALL  THE  CHAN- 
CELLORS OF  FRANCE  FROM  THE  BEGIN- 
NING OF  THE  CAPETIAN  DYNASTY  TO 
THE    REIGN    OF    LOUIS    XII. 


HuGUES  Capet. 


Robert. 


Henry  I. 


LoLis  THE  Fat. 


AdalWron,  Archbishop  of  Reims— Gerbert,  Archbis- 
hop of  Reims— Reginald,  Bishop  of  Paris — Rotger, 
Bishop  of  Beauvais. 

Abbo,  Bishop— Francon,  Bishop  of  Paris— Arnulphus, 
Archbishop  of  Reims — Baldwin  —Fulbert  of  Char- 
tres. 

Gervais,  Archbishop  of  Reims  (1059,  1065) — Baldwin 
(1061 — 1067)  —  Peter,  Abbot  of  Saint  Germain 
(1067 — 71)— Guillaume  (1073)— Godfrid  (1075—92) 
— Roger  of  Beauvais  (1070,  1080,  1105) — Ursion 
of  Senlis  (1090)  — Hubert  (1091,  92)  —  Hambaud 
(1095)— Arnulphus  (1097)— Gislebert  (1095,  1105) 
— Ftienne  (1106,  1108). 

Etienne  (the  same  as  above,  1108 — 1116 — Etienne  de 
Garlande  (1116,  1125,  1133)— Fulchrade  (1119)— 
Simon  (1125,  1133)— Hugues  (1129)— Algrin  (1134, 

37)- 
Louis  the  Young.  Algrin  (the  same  as  above,  1 150)— Noel,  Abbot  of 
Rebais  (1139,  40)— Cadurc  (1140— 1147)— Lideric 
(1142)— Barthelemy  (1147)  —  Baudouin  (1147)— 
Simon  (1150,  1153)— Hugues  de  Champfueri,  Bis- 
hop of  Soissons  (1150,  51,  69,  72)  — Roger  (1154) — 
Hugues  de  Fuiseaux  (1178,  79). 

Hugues  de  Puiseaux  (as  above,  to  11:- 5)— Hugues  de 
Bethisy  (1185,  86). 

Gu^rin  (i  186— 1226). 

Guerin  (abdicates  in  1227,  then  a  vacancy  occurs — 
Philip  d'Antogny^ean  Allegrin  (1240?  vacancy 
in  1248)— Nicolas  de  Canis  (1249)— Gilles,  Archbis- 
hop of  Tyre  (1258)— Jean  le  Court  d'Aubergenville, 


Philip  Augustus. 


Louis  VHI 
Louis  IX. 


XXXVl       LIST   OF   CHANCELLORS   OF  FRANCE. 


Bishop  of  Evreux  (1258,  1260,  vacancy  in  1259) — 
Simon  de  Brie  (Pope  under  the  name  of  Martin  IV. 
1261) — Philippe  de  Caturc(i269) — Mathieude  Ven- 
dome,  Abbot  of  Saint  Denis — Simon  de  Clermont. 

Philip  III.  Pierre  Barbet,  Archbishop  of  Reims  (1270,  vacancy  in 

1271,  73,  74,  79) — Henry  de  Vezelay  (1279) — Pierre 
de  Challon  (1281—83). 

Philip  IV.  Jean  de  Vassaigne  (1292,  died  in  1300) — Etienne  de 

Sousy  (1292,  1302,  1304) — Guillaume  de  Crespy 
(1293,  96) — Pierre  Flotte  (1300— 1302)— Pierre  de 
Belle- Perche,  Bishop  of  Auxerre  (1306,  1307) — 
Pierre  de  Gres— Guillaume  de  Nogaret  (1307)^ 
Gilles  Aycelin,  Archbishop  of  Narbonne  (1309— 
1313) — Pierre  de  Latilly  (1313 — 14). 

Louis  le  Hutin,       Etienne  de  Mornai  (1314— 16). 

Philip  V.  Pierre  d'Arablai  (1316,  17) — Pierre  de  Chappes  (1321) 

— Jean  de  Cherchemont  (1320). 

Charles  IV.  Pierre  Rodier   (1320 — 23)  — Jean  de  Cherchemont 

(1323—28). 

Philip  VI.  Mathieu   Ferrand   (1328)— Jean  de   Marigny,   Arch- 

bishop of  Rouen  (1329)  —  Guillaume  de  Sainte 
Maura  (1329 — 34) — Pierre  Rogert  (since  Clement 
VI.,  1334) — Guy  Baudet,  Bishop  of  Langres  (1334 
—38) — Etienne  de  Vissac  (1338)-  Guillaume  Flotte 
(1339 — 47)  —  Firmin  Coquerel,  Bishop  of  Noyon 
(1347)— Pierre  de  la  Foret,  Cardinal  (1349— .S7)- 

John  II.  Pierre  de  la  Foret  (1359)— Fouquet  Bardoul— Gilles 

Aycelin  de  Montagu  (1357,  1360) — Jean  de  Dor- 
mans,  Bishop  of  Beauvais  (1361). 

Charles  V.  Jean  de  Dormans  (till  1317)— Guillaume  de  Dormans 

(1371) — Pierre  d'Orgemont  (1380). 

Charles  VI,  Milon    de   Dormans,    Bishop   of   Beauvais   (1383) — 

Pierre  de  Giac  (1388)— Arnaud  de  Corbie  (dismissed 
in  1398,  reinstated  1400— 1405  ;  dismissed  again, 
reinstated,  exercises  1409  ;  abdicates  in  1412) — 
Hier  de  Martreuil  (?)— Nicolas  du  Bois,  Bishop  of 
Bayeux  (1398 — 1400) — ^Jean  de  Montagu,  Arch- 
bishop of  Sens  (1405 — 1409)— Henri  de  Laistre 
(1413,  1418—20) — Henri  le  Lorgne  de  Marie  (1413 
— 1418)— Jeanle  Clerc  (1420 — 25). 

Charles  VII.  Louis  de  Luxembourg  (1424 — 1435,  named  by  Henry 

V/.  as  well  as  the  next) — Thomas  Hoo  (1436 — 39)^ 
Robert  le  Ma9on  {named  by  the  Dauphin,  1418, 
1419 — 21) — Martin  Gouges  de  Charpaigne,  Bishop 
of  Clermont  (1421—38)— Renaud  de  Chartres, 
Archbishop  of  Reims  (March  28,  August  6,  1424, 


LIST   OF  CHANCELLORS   OF  FRANCE.      XXXvii 

1428— 45)— Guillaurae  Juvenal  des  Ursins  (1445 — 

1461). 
Louis  XI.  Pierre  de  Morvillier  (1461 — 1465) — Guillaume  Juvenal 

de  Ursins  (1472)— Pierre  d'Oriole  (1483). 
Charles  VIII.  Guillaume  de  Rochefort  (1492)— Adam  Fumde  (1494) 

— Robert  Briqonnet,  Archbishop  of  Reims  (1495 — 

97) — Gui  de  Rochefort. 
Louis  XII.  Gui  de  Rochefort  (as  above  till  1507)— Jean  de  Gannay 

(1512)— Etienne  Poncher  (1515). 


THE    PARLIAMENT. 

The  Supreme  Court  of  Law  in  France  held  its  sittings,  first  at  intervals, 
afterwards  (reign  of  Charles  V.)  permanently;  was  re-organized  by  Philip  the 
Fair  (edict  of  1302),  and  subdivided  according  to  the  nature  ot  the  duties  it 
had  to  discharge. 

I.     Political  functions — belonged  to  the  Council  of  State  [Conseil  d'etat, 
Grand  Conseil,  Conseil  Iitroif). 

Chambre  des  requetes,   tried    cases 
brought  directly  before  the   Par- 
liament. 
I  i^.   Chambre  des  enquetes,    tried  cases 
about   which   appeal    had    been 


Judicial  functions  —  belonged 
to  the  Parliament  proper, 
divided  into  three  Courts 


made  to  Parliament. 
Grand'    Chambre  or  Chambre  des 
plaidoiries,     decided    cases    ex- 
amined in  the  first  instance  by 
the  Chambre  des  enquetes. 
3.     Financial  functions — belonged  to  the  Chambre  des  comptes. 

Number  of  persons    composing   the   Parliament   under   the   reigns   of 
Charles  VII.,  Louis  XL,  Charles  VIII.,  and  Louis  XII.  :— 

1.  Twelve  Peers  of  France. 

2.  Eiglit  Masters  {Alaiires  des  requites). 

3.  Eighty  Councillors,  both  laymen  and  ecclesiastics. 


PROVINCIAL  PARLIAMENTS. 


Toulouse  created  in  1302 

Dijon    created  in     1477 

Grenoble       ,,         ,,   1453 

Rouen      ,,         ,,       1499 

Bordeaux     ,,        ,,  1462 

Aix           „        „      1501 

XXXVlll 


GENEALOGICAL    TABLE. 


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MEDIEVAL    FRANCE. 


THE   FIRST   FOUR   CAPETIAN    KINGS. 
987-1  108.) 

The  story  of  ancient  France  can  scarcely  be  said 
to  begin  before  Hugues  Capet ;  during  the  Merovingian 
dynasty  it  is  the  story  of  the  Celts,  the  Romans,  the 
Greeks,  and  the  Teutons  ;  under  Charlemagne  and  his 
successors  it  is  closely  interwoven  with  that  of  Ger- 
many. When,  in  987,  the  Duke  of  France  decided 
U[)on  assuming  the  title  of  king,  the  large  and  fertile 
country  included  between  the  Rhine,  the  Pyrenees,  and 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  could  scarcely  indeed  be  regarded  as 
forming  one  political  community,  but  the  various  ele- 
ments of  which  it  consisted  were  gradually  becoming 
welded  together,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  that  region, 
whether  north  or  south  of  the  Loire,  claimed  the  name 
o{  Freiic/unen.  Let  us  take  a  glance  at  that  series  of 
duchies,  baronies,  countships,  and  other  quasi-indepen- 
dent states  of  which  Hugues  Capet  was  the  nominal 
king.     Brittany  strikes  us  first  as  the  district  which 


2  THE   FIRST   FOUR    CAPET  I  AN  KINGS. 

was  the  last  to  lose  the  originaHty  of  its  laws,  its  cus- 
toms, its  language,  and  its  literature  ;  as  far  back  as 
the  fourth  century  the  league  or  association  of  the 
Armorican  cities,  governed  by  indepenlent  chieftains, 
set  at  defiance  both  the  Roman  legions  and  the  hordes 
of  Barbarians,  who  from  the  further  side  of  the  Rhine 
overran  the  whole  of  Gaul.  They  maintained  their 
freedom  against  the  Northmen  on  the  one  side,  and 
the  Angevins  on  the  other.  After  982,  however,  they 
ceased  to  form  a  separate  state  and  became  part  of 
France.  If  we  travel  southwards,  starting  from  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine,  we  find  the  provinces  of  Flanders, 
Vermandois,  Picardy  ;  and,  going  towards  the  east, 
Lorraine.  Champagne  owes  its  name  {Campania  in 
Gregorius  Turonensis)  to  the  fertility  of  its  soil,  and 
to  its  general  appearance  ;  it  was  originally  governed 
by  princes  of  the  Vermandois  family.  The  Counts  of 
Anjouwere  undoubtedly  the  most  powerful  amongstthe 
vassals  of  Hugues  Capet  ;  they  played  a  conspicuous 
part  in  the  history  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  were  closely 
mixed  up  with  the  political  life,  not  only  of  France, 
but  of  England.  Burgundy  and  Franche  Comte  must 
not  be  forgotten,  and  in  the  course  ofthis  "story  "  we 
shall  often  have  the  opportunity  of  recording  the  events 
which  brought  the  rulers  of  these  provinces  into  col- 
lision with  the  kings  of  France.  And  now  we  come 
to  the  banks  of  the  Loire,  on  the  southern  side  of  which 
the  large  districts  of  Septimania,  Toulouse,  Gascony, 
Provence,  and  Guienne  (corrupted  from  Aquitania)  are 
occupied  by  a  population  which  still  betrays  its  Latin 
origin,  and  is  decidedly  the  most  intellectual  and  most 
refined  part   of  France.     There  is  the   home   of  the 


THE   SOCIETY  OF   THE   SIXTH   CENTURY.  3 

Troubado7i7's ;  there  flourishes  the  Langue  d'oc,  which 
has  produced  so  man\' brilliant  monuments  of  elegant 
literature. 

W^e  have  thus  given  a  short  view  of  the  principal 
territorial  elements  of  which  the  French  family  con- 
sists ;  we  shall  now  describe  as  briefly,  and  yet  as 
completely  as  we  can,  the  constitution  of  the  family 
itself  and  the  political  structure  which  prevailed  during 
the  period  known  as  the  Middle  Ages. 

Three  different  categories  made  up  society  in  the 
Gaul  of  the  sixth  century  ;  namely,  the  Gallo-Roman, 
the  Church,  and  the  Barbarian.  When  Hugues  Capet 
came  to  the  throne,  this  threefold  division  still 
existed,  but  under  different  names  :  the  lords  held  the 
position  occupied  previously  by  the  Gallo-Romans, 
and  whilst  the  Church  retained  its  position,  the  serfs 
represented  the  lowest  stratum  of  society,  barbarians 
in  point  of  fact,  if  not  by  express  designation.  The 
bonds  which  connected  these  three  orders  with  each 
other  may  be  said  to  have  arisen  from  two  edicts  or 
enactments  which  consecrated  a  revolution  of  ancient 
date,  and  resulting  from  the  very  nature  and  constitu- 
tion of  society.  In  times  of  political  disturbances, 
when  the  most  elementary  notions  of  order  seem  for- 
gotten and  cast  aside,  it  is  a  matter  of  ccurse  that  the 
weak  should  endeavour  to  secure  the  protection  of  the 
strong,  and  to  obtain,  if  possible,  the  conditions  of 
peaceful  life  and  of  undisturbed  labour.  Now,  in  847 
an  edict  given  at  Mersen  contained  the  following 
clause  :  "  Every  free  man  shall  be  allowed  to  select 
for  himself  a  lord,  either  the  king  or  one  of  the  king's 
vassals  ;  and  no  vassal  of  the  crown  shall  be  oblisred 


4  THE    FIRST  FOUR    CAPETIAN   KINGS. 

to  follow  the  king  to  war,  except  against  foreign 
enemies."  The  force  of  this  enactment  will  be  obvious. 
We  must  bear  in  mind  that  at  the  time  of  his  accession, 
Hugues  Capet  was  no  more  than  the  equal  of  most 
of  the  lords  between  whom  the  territory  of  France  was 
divided  and  even  inferior  in  power  to  some  of  them. 
Nor  was  this  a  solitary  case,  and  as  his  subjects  could 
thus  make  their  obedience  a  matter  of  bargain,  the 
sovereign  would  frequently  find  himself  helpless  in 
times  of  civil  war,  and  being  equally  unable  to  enforce 
submission  upon  the  lords,  and  to  protect  the  common 
class  of  his  subjects,  these  would  naturally  group  them- 
selves around  the  more  powerful  barons. 

As  the  edict  of  Mersen  affected  the  question  of 
security,  so  that  of  Kiersy  told  upon  the  status  of 
property.  Under  the  Carlovingian  dynasty  property 
was  of  two  kinds  ;  the  holders  of  allodial  lands  {allodial 
from  all,  and  the  old  Teutonic  substantive  od,  goods, 
property)  enjoyed  them  absolutely  and  independently. 
On  the  other  hand,  benefices  or  fiefs  (from  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  feof,  cattle,  money)  were  granted  by  a  lord  to 
a  person  who,  in  return  for  that  grant,  and  for  the 
protection  it  insured  on  the  part  of  the  baron,  obliged 
himself  to  do  military  service,  to  render  pecuniary 
assistance,  &c.  Now  it  would  frequently  happen  that 
the  owner  of  allodial  property,  isolated  amongst  all  his 
independence,  found  it  impossible  to  live  securely  and 
comfortably  in  the  vicinity  of  barons  stronger  or  more 
powerful  than  himself  He  would  then  select  one  of 
these  barons  or  feudal  lords,  reconunend  himself  to 
him,  as  the  saying  was,  make  over  to  him  by  a 
kind    of   feigned    cession    his    allodial   property,  and 


FEUDAL    SYSTEM.  5 

then  receive  it  back  again  as  a  benefice,  together  with 
all  the  duties,  obligations,  and  burdens  belonging  to  it. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  beneficiary  property  soon  formed 
the  rule,  except  south  of  the  Loire,  and  there  was  no 
landed  property  which  did  not  depend  upon  another 
propert}',  no  man  who  was  not  the  vassal  or  dependant 
of  another  man.  The  hereditar\'  transmission  of  landed 
property  and  of  all  charges,  offices,  and  positions  of 
trust  was  sanctioned  by  the  edict  of  Kiersy  i^T/). 

We  thus  see  that  every  great  lord  or  landowner, 
enjoying  the  same  rights  and  privileges  as  the  king 
himself,  there  existed  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  France  as  many  sovereigns  as  there  were 
dukes,  counts,  viscounts,  &c.  When  Hugues  Capet 
came  to  the  throne,  he  found  a  hundred  and  fifty 
barons  owning  the  right  of  legislating,  coining,  ad- 
ministering justice,  making  war,  and  concluding 
treaties  with  their  neighbours.  The  king,  therefore, 
had  no  real  power  as  such,  but  only  so  far  as  he 
possessed  some  important  fief,  whether  dukedom  or 
countship.  Before  the  accession  of  the  Capetian 
d\nasty  the  royal  domain  consisted  of  the  city  of 
Laon  and  a  few  insignificant  villas  ;  after  the  year  987 
it  comprised  the  whole  duchy  of  France,  and  Hugues 
Capet  was  thus,  in  point  of  real  power,  the  equal  of  his 
vassals. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  a  real  hierarchy  bound 
together  all  owners  of  fiefs,  and  in  this  complicated 
.s\'stem  the  same  individual  could  be  at  the  same  time 
suzerain  and  vassal.  The  King  of  France,  for  instance, 
was  vassal  of  the  Abbot  of  Saint  Denis,  and  the  Duke 
of   Burgundy  held    the    same    position    towards    the 


6  THE   FIRST   FOUR    CAPET  I  AN  KINGS. 

Bishop  of  Langrcs  ;  thirty-two  knights-bannerets  owed 
service  and  homage  to  the  Viscount  of  Thouars,  who, 
in  his  turn,  was  a  vassal  of  the  Count  of  Anjou,  him- 
self a  vassal  of  the  King  of  France.  Our  readers  will 
see  at  once  that  every  count  was  not  necessarily 
superior  to  a  viscount  and  inferior  to  a  duke.  The 
Count  of  Anjou,  for  example,  had  nothing  to  do, 
hierarchically,  with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  the 
only  point  these  two  lords  had  in  common  was  their 
position  as  vassals  of  the  King  of  France. 

Three  principal  ceremonies  characterized  the  feudal 
relations  between  the  lord  and  his  vassal.  The  latter, 
when  doing  homage  to  the  former,  knelt  before  him, 
and  placing  his  hand  in  that  of  his  future  suzerain, 
declared  that  he  would  become  /lis  man,  and  as  such 
acknowledged  himself  bound  to  defend  his  life  and  his 
honour.  He  then  took  the  oath  of  faith  or  fidelity, 
having  previously  removed  his  sword  and  his  spurs. 
This  was  called  Jiomuiage-lige,  and  bound  the  vassal  to 
m.ilitary  service  for  an  unlimited  time,  and  on  what- 
soever territory  the  lord  thought  fit  to  lead  his  depen- 
dants. For  circumstances  and  at  epochs  when  war  was 
permanent,  or  nearly  so,  the  honnnage-ligc  prevailed  ; 
thus  in  the  code  of  laws  known  by  the  name  of  "Assises 
de  Jerusalem,"  drawn  up  after  the  taking  of  the  Holy 
City  by  the  Crusaders  in  1099,  it  is  regarded  as  the  rule. 
The  Jiouiniage  simple  or  franc  was  of  a  less  stringent 
character  ;  it  implied  military  service  only  for  the  space 
of  forty  days  yearly,  within  the  limits  of  the  fief,  and 
with  the  permission  of  performing  that  service  by 
deputy.  The  vassal  did  homage  standing,  wearing 
bis  sword  and  spurs,  and  placing  one  hand  on  a  copy 


FEUDAL    FORTRESSES.  7 

of  the  Gospels.  The  ceremony  once  over,  the  tie 
between  the  lord  and  his  vassal  is  complete,  and  an 
interchange  of  duties,  services,  and  obligations  must 
be  the  necessary  result.  We  can  imagine  the  scene 
taking  place  in  the  hall  of  one  of  those  imposing 
castles,  the  ruins  of  which  add  ev^en  at  the  present  time 
so  much  picturesqucness  to  the  landscapes  in  France, 
Germany,  England,  Ital}^  and  Spain. 

Just  as  the  republics  of  antiquity  had  thelv/onnn  and 
their  agora,  just  as  the  France  of  Louis  XIV.  boasted 
of  its  Versailles,  just  as  modern  England  possessed 
its  court  of  Parliament,  so  did  the  feudal  system 
raise  its  castles  and  its  strongholds  as  the  centre  of 
authority  and  the  symbol  and  the  abiding  place  of 
power.  The  edifice  is  generally  built  upon  a  height  ; 
its  architecture  is  massive,  but  without  any  particular 
beauty.  A  series  of  towers,  either  round  or  square, 
connected  together  by  formidable  walls,  and  pierced 
here  and  there  with  loop-holes  form  the  structure. 
At  Montlhery  there  were  no  less  than  five  concentric 
enclosures  commanding  each  other,  and  giving  ad- 
ditional security  to  the  chateau.  You  arrive  ;  the 
entrance-gate.  Hanked  by  small  towers  and  sur- 
mounted by  a  guard-room,  presents  itself  before  you. 
Three  moats,  three  drawbridges  must  be  crossed. 
At  every  step  you  take,  a  challenge  meets  you,  and  if 
admittance  is  granted,  you  find  yourself  before  the 
keep  {donjon),  a  strongly  fortified  building  which  con- 
tains the  family  records  and  the  family  treasure. 
The  lodgings,  farmhouses,  stables,  and  other  de- 
pendencies  are  scattered  about  to  the  right  and  to 
the    left,   and    an    underground    passage    leaves    an 


"'irSJjf  '' liMFJ^  ■■^\-'  lf,r*F--^'*''!  !-SiiMs?i,_.  fafe^^-^^Si 


CHATEAU   OF   M0NTLH£RY. 


FEUDAL   DUES.  9 

exit  from  within  to  the  plain  or  to  the  neighbouring 
forest. 

There  is  not  a  single  feature  in  these  splendid 
castles  which  does  not  remind  us  that  war  is  the 
constant  occupation  of  those  who  dwell  within,  and 
that  military  service  is  the  chief  obligation  which  the 
vassal  owes  to  his  lord.  We  have  said  the  chief, 
not  the  only  one.  The  help  of  wise  counsel  and  of 
wholesome  advice  is  also  frequently  needed  ;  it  may 
likewise  happen  that  the  lord  is  retained  prisoner  in 
foreign  lands  ;  the  vassals  must  then  club  together  to 
pay  his  ransom.  When  he  gives  his  eldeet  daughter 
in  marriage,  when  his  eldest  son  is  made  knight,  or 
is  about  to  start  for  the  Crusades,  pecuniary  aids  are 
also  expected  as  a  matter  of  course.  Estates  might, 
and  did  often,  change  hands ;  others  were  con- 
fiscated or  left  without  owners,  on  account  of  the 
death  of  the  heir:  hence  fresh  and  heavy  duties  paid 
over  to  the  lord.  If  the  vassal  was  a  minor,  the 
suzerain  became  his  guardian,  and  as  such  received 
the  income  till  his  ward  had  attained  his  majority. 
The  daughters  of  the  vassal  were  obliged  to  receive 
husbands  at  the  hand  of  the  lord,  unless  they  pre- 
ferred forfeiting  a  considerable  sum  of  money.  It 
will  be  easily  imagined  that  under  such  a  system  fiefs 
were  multiplied  as  much  as  possible,  because  every 
fief  meant  military  service — a  thing  of  the  utmost 
importance  in  those  days — and  money,  which  at  all 
times  is  a  matter  of  great  consequence.  The  right  of 
hunting,  of  fishing,  of  crossing  a  river,  of  escorting 
merchants  and  other  persons  of  the  same  description 
had  to  be  purchased.     The  vassals  were  compelled  to 


A    KNIGHT    OF    MEDI/EVAI,    FKANCB. 


VASSALS   AND   SERFS.  II 

bake  their  bread  in  the  seigniorial  ovens,  to  grind 
their  corn  in  the  seigniorial  mill,  to  make  their  wine 
in  the  seigniorial  wine-press,  paying  certain  sums  for 
the  use  of  conveniences  which  they  were  obliged  to 
avail  themselves  of  [banalites). 

All  the  vassals  of  the  same  lord  were  considered  as 
pairs  or  equals,  and  they  formed  in  their  capacity  a 
kind  of  court  of  justice  from  which  appeals  were 
allowed  to  the  lord  himself.  Whenever  in  discussions 
or  differences  agreement  was  impossible,  the  case 
was  decided  by  a  duel  or  appeal  to  arms.  The  right 
of  private  warfare  was  thus  not  only  tolerated,  but 
sanctioned  as  a  matter  of  necessity.  All  lords  had  the 
right  of  pronouncing  judicial  sentences,  but  that  right 
was  not  the  same  in  all  cases.  Only  barons  enjoying 
the  privilege  of  high  justice  (haute  justice)  could  con- 
demn to  death,  and  accordingly  erect  the  gallows  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  their  castles.  The  middle  and 
lo%v  justice  (moyenne  justice,  basse  justice)  only  ap- 
plied to  minor  cases,  which  were  punished  by  fines. 

Lower  than  the  vassals  came  the  serfs  who  had  no 
rights — a  whole  army  of  wretched  creatures  who, 
under  their  threefold  designations  of  serfs  properly 
so  called,  mai)ii)iortablcs,  and  z'ilaiiis,  uianaiits  or 
roturiers,  were  more  or  less  under  the  absolute  de- 
pendence of  the  feudal  baron.  Of  the  serfs,  an  oM 
legist  has  said  that  the  baron  might  take  from  them 
whatever  they  had,  and  that  he  might  either  right- 
fully or  wrongfully  keep  them  in  prison  whenever  and 
as  long  as  he  liked,  being  accountable  to  God  alone. 
The  viaiiiuiortablcs  were  better  off;  if  they  paid  regu- 
larly their  rents,  dues,  reliefs,  &c.,  the  lord  could  not 


12  THE   FIRST   FOUR    CAPETIAN  KINGS. 

exact  anything  more  from  them,  unless  as  a  punish- 
ment for  some  misdeed  ;  but  they  could  not  marry 
except  with  the  permission  of  the  lord,  and,  at  their 
death,  all  their  property  reverted  to  him.  The 
manajits  or  roturiers  enjoyed  their  freedom,  at  any 
rate,  and  could  transmit  their  property  to  their 
children,  but  still  they  had  to  put  up  with  certain 
obligations  which  often  rendered  their  peace  and  their 
condition,  in  general,  extremely  precarious.  The 
vassals  had,  as  we  have  seen,  to  pay  to  the  baron 
certain  fines,  reliefs,  dues,  &c.  ;  we  need  hardly  say 
that  the  serfs  and  vilains  were  treated  in  a  far  more 
arbitrary  fashion  still.  Besides  contributions  in  kind 
and  in  money,  they  found  themselves  compelled  to 
give  away  their  time  and  their  labour  without  the 
slightest  compensation.  When  a  road  had  to  be 
made  on  the  manorial  estate,  a  building  to  be  erected 
or  repaired,  furniture  or  agricultural  implements  to  be 
provided,  the  serfs  were  set  to  work  as  part  of  the 
obligations  to  which  they  were  bound.  In  fact,  the 
serfs  were  made  to  feel  constantly  that  they  had  no 
free  action,  and  that  they  could  dispose  neither  of 
their  service  nor  of  their  labour. 

What  was  the  Church  doing  in  the  meanwhile,  and 
what  part  did  it  play  in  the  general  progress  of  social 
institutions?  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  influence 
exercised  by  it  was  a  beneficial  one  as  a  whole,  but  it 
had  become  part  and  parcel  of  the  feudal  system,  and 
the  archbishops,  bishops,  and  abbots  exercised  tem- 
poral power  as  well  as  spiritual  authority.  We  are 
at  first  inclined  to  wonder  perhaps  when  we  read  that 
during  the   Middle   Ages  the   Church    possessed,  in 


WARLIKE   PRELATES.  I3 

France  as  well  as  in  England,  more  than  one-fifth 
of  the  whole  territory  ;  but  we  must  remember  that 
whilst,  on  the  one  hand,  the  threat  of  excommuni- 
cation prevented  many  otherwise  unscrupulous 
persons  from  tampering  with  Church  property,  the  zeal 
and  the  piety  of  the  great  majority  of  the  rich  faithful 
resulted,  on  the  other,  in  grants  of  land  and  other 
substantial  donations  to  churches,  abbeys,  and  monas- 
teries. Despite  the  character  which  ordination  had 
stamped  upon  them,  ecclesiastical  dignitaries  retained 
much  of  those  fighting  qualities  so  essentially  be- 
longing to  feudalism.  In  his  history  of  France 
(vol.  ii.),  Michelet  mentions  several  amusing  in- 
stances of  this  fact.  As  early  as  Charlemagne  the 
bishops  are  indignant  when  a  peaceful  mule  is  brought 
round  to  them  if  they  wish  to  ride ;  what  they  want 
is  a  charger;  they  jump  upon  it  unaided  ;  they  hunt, 
they  fight ;  the  blows  they  deal  with  their  swords  are 
their  st\-le  of  blessing  ;  the  penances  they  impose  are 
the  heavy  and  formidable  strokes  of  their  battle-axes. 
We  hear  of  a  bishop  deposed  by  the  whole  episcopal 
bench  as  pacific  and  not  sufficiently  courageous  ;  the 
barons  became  clergymen,  the  clergymen  barons. 

Such,  in  brief,  was  the  state  of  French  society  when 
Hugues  Capet  ascended  the  throne.  And  here  the 
question  arises  :  Who  was  Hugues  Capet .-'  •  What 
do  we  know  about  his  origin  ?  There  exists  a.c/ur/ison 
de  geste  (romance  of  chivalry;  which  bears  the  name 
of  that  king,  and  where  occurs  the  following  passage; 

"  Pour  ce  vous  lyray  la  vie  d'un  guerrier 
De  coy  on  doit  I'istore  et  leer  et  prisier, 
Et  le  grant  hardement  que  Dieux  ly  fist  querquer 


14  THE   FIRST   FOUR    CAPETIAl^   KINGS. 

Pour  soustenir  droiture  et  honneur  exauchier. 

Ce  fu  Huez  Capez  c'on  apelle  bouchier : 

Ce  fu  voirs,  mais  moult  space  en  savoit  du  mestier." 

"  Therefore  I  shall  read  you  the  life  of  a  warrior, 
Whose  history  should  be  praised  and  valued, 
And  the  great  courage  which  God  led  him  to  seek 
To  uphold  right  and  exalt  courage. 
This  was  Hugues  Capet,  whom  they  called  a  butcher  : 
This  was  true,  but  he  knew  very  little  of  the  trade." 

Hugues  Capet,  a  butcher  (the  nephew  of  a  butcher 
as  the  song  says  elsewhere)  ;  this  statement  is  odd 
enough,  but  what  is  more  singular  still,  the  same  origin 
is  ascribed  to  the  first  Capetian  king  by  Dante 
("  Purgatorio"),  the  chronicler  of  Saint  Bcrtin,  Villon 
("  Ballade  de  I'appel  "),  and  Cornelius  Agrippa  ("  Dc 
vanitate  scientiarum  ").  We  know,  indeed,  that  the 
great  Italian  poet  was  animated  by  a  spirit  of  hostility 
when  he  ascribed  to  Hugues  Capet  so  low  an  origin  ; 
we  are  also  aware  that  the  author  of  the  chronicle  of 
Saint  Bertin  quotes  the  legend  only  to  contradict  it ; 
but  what  motive  can  Villon  and  others  have  had  to 
give  it  credence,  if  it  was  not  the  wish  to  flatter  the 
bourgeoisie  by  identifying  with  it  a  brave  soldier,  or, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  represent  Hugues  Capet  as  a 
mere  usurper? 

By  opposition  to  this  hypothesis  some  chroniclers 
have  endeavoured,  with  more  ingenuity  than  success, 
to  find  a  family  connection  between  the  Duke  of 
France  and  the  Carlovingians,  just  as  at  an  earlier 
period  a  fanciful  genealogical  tree  had  been  devised, 
showing  that  Pepin  the  Short  could  trace  back  his 
origin  to  the  Merovingian  dynasty.  Be  the  result 
what  it  may,    Hugues   Capet    ruled  over  France  for 


THE   CHURCH.  15 

the  space  of  nine  years,  and  died  in  996,  at  the  com- 
paratively early  age  of  fifty-four.  When  his  son 
Robert  ascended  the  throne,  France,  as  well  as  the 
rest  of  Europe,  was  under  the  impression  of  extreme 
terror.  It  was  a  general  belief  that  the  end  of  the 
world  would  take  place  in  the  year  1 000,  and  a 
society  so  disorganized  as  feudalism  still  was,  could 
not  but  be  much  struck  by  that  idea,  unwarranted  as 
it  might  be.  One  good  result  came  out  of  it  in  the 
shape  of  great  moral  improvement  ;  and  if  the  Church 
profited  through  the  liberality  of  the  faithful,  in  the 
shape  of  donations,  legacies,  &c.,  it  is  only  fair  to  say 
that  the  ecclesiastical  dignitaries,  the  clergy,  both 
secular  and  regular,  did  their  utmost  to  enforce  disci- 
pline, to  put  down  abuses,  and  to  check  the  ambition 
and  wanton  disposition  of  the  barons  and  lords. 
Robert  has  left  behind  him  the  reputation  of  one  of 
the  most  pious  kings  who  ever  occupied  the  French 
throne.  "  More  of  a  monk  than  of  a  sovereign,"  says 
some  historian  ;  and  the  poets  and  chroniclers  con- 
tinually allude  to  the  "  times  of  good  King  Robert." 
He  got  into  trouble  with  the  Pope  for  having  married 
a  distant  relative,  Bertha,  daughter  of  Conrad  the 
Peaceful,  King  of  Aries,  and  widow  of  Eudes  I.,  Count 
of  Blois  In  spite  of  the  threats  of  the  Court  of 
Rome,  notwithstanding  the  express  decision  of  a 
council,  Robert  persisted  in  retaining  his  wife,  and 
it  was  only  in  1006  that  lie  repudiated  her,  and  mar- 
ried Constance,  daughter  of  William  Taillefer,  Count 
of  Toulouse.  The  appearance  of  the  Southerners  in 
Paris  seems  to  have  created  not  only  astonishment, 
but  disgust.     "  Conceited  men,"  says  the  chronicler, 


l6  THE    FIRST   FOUR    CAPET  IAN   KINGS. 

Radulph  Glaber,  "of  light  character  and  dissolute, 
life  ;  their  dress,  the  very  trappings  of  their  horses 
are  odd  and  fantastic ;  they  are  close-shaved  like 
stage-performers,  their  hair  is  cut  short,  their  buskins 
are  absurdly  long ;  they  jump  rather  than  walk  ; 
they  have  an  utter  disregard  for  their  word,  and  no 
one  dare  trust  them."  The  contrast  between  Robert's 
kindly  disposition  and  the  haughtiness  of  his  queen 
is  repeatedly  dwelt  upon  by  the  historians,  who  illus- 
trate it  by  characteristic  anecdotes.  "Constance  never 
jokes,"  says  the  monk  Helgand.  She  incited  to 
rebellion,  first,  Robert's  eldest  son,  Hugues,  who  died 
in  1025  ;  and,  secondly,  his  third  son,  Henry,  The 
peaceful  reign  of  the  second  Capetian  monarch  wa: 
marked,  however,  by  events  of  considerable  import- 
ance. He  was  offered  the  crown  of  Italy  and  the 
dukedom  of  Lorraine  ;  conscious,  no  doubt,  of  his 
own  weakness  he  refused  both,  and  if  he  acted  rightly 
in  declining  the  former  presentation,  we  must  own 
that  he  was  not  well-advised  when  he  refused  the 
latter ;  after  a  w^ar  which  lasted  sixteen  years  he 
obtained  possession  of  the  dukedom  of  Burgund)-, 
which,  however,  was  lost  temporarily  to  the  crown  by 
Henry  the  next  king. 

Another  important  fact,  which  we  must  not  leave 
unmentioned,  is  the  insurrection  of  the  Normandy 
peasants  in  997.  The  insolence  and  tyranny  of  the 
barons  was  felt  in  that  part  of  France  more  than  an}-- 
where  else,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  serfs  and 
the  commoners  constituted  the  chief  part  of  the 
original  population,  whilst  the  aristocracy  belonged 
to  the  invaders  who  had  scarcely  for  a  century  settled 


ATTITUDE   OF    THE   SERFS.  ly 

down  in  Neustria.  Why  should  authority  be  in  the 
hands  of  comparative  strangers,  especially  when  it  was 
so  brutally  misused  ? 

Fellowship  in  suffering  knit  together  all  the  victims 
of  feudal  tyranny  ;  after  the  work  of  the  day  was  over 
the  inhabitants  of  the  same  neighbourhood  used  to 
assemble  together,  and  discuss  the  long  tale  of  their 
grievances,  the  duties  they  had  to  pay,  the  corvecs  to 
which  they  were  subjected,  the  labour  for  which  they 
received  no  compensation. 

"  Les  paysans  et  les  vilains, 
Ceux  du  bocage  et  ceux  des  plaines. 
Par  vingt,  par  trente,  par  centainc;, 
Ont  tenu  plusieurs  parlemiints  ; 
Que  jamais,  par  leur  volonte 
Naront  seingneur  ni  avoe." 

*'The  peasants  and  the  vilains. 
Those  of  the  woods  and  those  of  the  plains, 
By  twenties,  by  thirties,  by  hundreds, 
Have  held  several  parliaments 
(To  the  effect)  that  never  with  their  consent 
Shall  they  have  lord  or  champion." 

The  chronicler,  William  of  Jumieges,  gives  us  an 
interesting  account  of  the  origin  and  development  of 
a  vast  association,  having  its  ramifications  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  duchy,  and  the  object 
of  which  was  nothing  else  but  the  destruction  of  the 
feudal  system.  Unfortunately  the  plot  was  discovered, 
and  the  members  of  the  central  committee,  if  we  may 
use  such  a  name,  were  seized  by  a  body  of  soldiers 
under  the  orders  of  the  Count  of  Evreux,  uncle  of  the 
then  Duke  of  Normandy,  Richard  II.  They  were  all 
frightfully  maltreated,  and  those  who  survived  were 


l8  THE   FIRST  FOUR    CAPETTAN   KINGS. 

sent  back  to  their  villages  with  the  view  of  inspiring 
terror  and  submission  to  the  rest  of  the  population. 

A  system  of  persecution  organized  against  the 
Jews  must  also  be  noted,  the  cause  of  this  being,  as 
was  then  alleged,  the  destruction  of  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Sepulchre  by  the  Fatimite  Caliph  of  Egypt. 
The  first  public  execution  of  heretics  likewise  took 
place  about  that  time  ;  thirteen  were  burned  at  Or- 
leans, in  1022;  Toulouse  and  other  places  witnessed 
similar  executions.  One  of  the  unfortunate  persons 
thus  sentenced  to  death  had  been  confessor  to  Queen 
C'onstance  ;  as  he  passed  by  her  side  on  his  way  to 
the  place  of  execution,  she  put  out  one  of  his  eyes 
with  a  wand  she  held  in  her  right  hand. 

Death  surprised  Robert  whilst  he  was  busy  copy- 
ing the  obituary  register  of  the  Church  of  Melun 
(1031).  His  third  son,  Henry  I.,  succeeded  him,  the 
first  being  dead,  and  the  second  incapacitated  by 
weakness  of  mind.  Constance  would  have  wished 
her  fourth  son,  Robert,  to  obtain  the  crown  ;  but  this 
could  not  be,  and  Henry  had  to  satisfy  the  ambi- 
tion of  Robert  by  giving  over  to  him  the  duchy  of 
Burgundy. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  Middle  Ages  several 
cases  took  place  of  marriages  annulled  by  the  Pope,  be- 
cause they  had  been  brought  about  between  persons  con- 
nected together  by  relationship,  at  degrees  condemned  , 
by  the  Church.  Henry  I.,  determined  to  avoid  such 
a  difficulty,  sought  and  obtained  the  hand  of  Anne, 
daughter  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Russia.  It  was 
reported  that  she  descended,  on  her  mother's  side, 
from  Philip,  King  of  Macedon. 


ROBERT   OF  NORM  ANDY  — FOULQUES   NERRA.       IQ 

If  the  first  Capetians  were  naturally  of  a  timid 
disposition,  and  better  fit  for  the  quiet  seclusion  of  a 
monastery  than  for  the  turmoil  of  political  life,  the 
surrounding  lords,  on  the  contrary,  obtained  an  un- 
desirable reputation  b}'  their  crimes  and  their  ambi- 
tion. Robert,  Duke  of  Normandy,  was  one  of  them; 
nicknamed  t/ie  Magnificent  by  his  barons,  he  ap- 
pears to  have  rather  deserved  the  sobriquet  of  the 
Devil,  which  the  common  people  bestowed  upon  him. 
His  first  step  in  public  life  was  a  crime,  for  he  usurped 
the  Duchy  of  Normandy  b)-  poisoning  the  lawful 
ruler,  Richard  III.,  his  brother,  and  the  chief  barons. 
He  then  interfered  with  all  his  neighbours,  and, 
finally,  having  endeavoured  to  atone  for  his  wicked- 
ness by  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  he  died  in  Asia 
Minor  on  his  way  home.  His  son,  who  was  destined 
to  be  so  famous  under  the  name  of  William  the  Con- 
queror, after  having  succeeded  in  reducing,  with  the 
help  of  the  King  of  France,  his  turbulent  vassals  to 
obedience,  ended  by  turning  against  Henry,  and  de- 
feating the  royal  forces  in  several  encounters,  more 
particularly  at  Mortemer,  in  1054. 

Foulques  Nerra  (the  black).  Count  of  Anjou,  was 
also  a  good  specimen  of  the  medi^Eval  baron.  When 
a  man  undertakes  no  less  than  three  pilgrimages  to 
the  Holy  Land,  we  are  justified  in  believing  that  the 
catalogue  of  his  sins  was  particularly  heavy ;  such 
was  certainly  the  case  with  Foulques  Nerra.  Con- 
stance, Robert's  queen,  was  his  niece.  She  com- 
plained to  him  one  day  of  a  favourite  of  her  husband. 
The  Count  of  Anjou  immediately  sent  for  twelve 
knights,  and  ordered  them  to  start  in  search  of  the 


20  THE   FIRST   FOUR    CAPETIAN  KINGS. 

favourite,  and  stab  him  wherever  they  might  find  him. 
Foulques  Nerra  had  two  wives  ;  according  to  one 
version,  he  ordered  the  former  one  to  be  burned  alive; 
according  to  another,  he  had  her  thrown  down  a 
precipice,  and  as  she  contrived  tp  escape,  he  stabbed 
her  himself  He  ill-used  his  second  wife  so  much 
that  she  was  obliged  to  retire  to  the  Holy  Land.  We 
are  not  much  astonished  at  learning  that,  overcome 
by  remorse,  Foulques  Nerra  caused  himself  to  be 
fastened  to  a  hurdle,  and  thus  dragged  through  the 
streets  of  Jerusalem,  whilst  two  of  his  servants 
scourged  him  with  all  their  might,  and  he  kept  re- 
peating, "  Have  pity,  O  Lord,  on  the  traitor,  the  per- 
jured Foulques  !  "  He  died  (1040)  on  his  way  home, 
leaving  the  countship  of  Anjou  to  his  son  Geoffrey 
Martel,  as  warlike  as  he  had  been  himself,  and  who 
was  a  powerful  ally  of  the  King  of  France  against  the 
Duke  of  Normandy. 

We  thus  see  that  the  feudal  system  was  bearing 
already  its  fruit  in  a  plentiful  crop  of  acts  charac- 
terized by  cruelty,  abuse  of  power,  and  unbridled 
ambition.  At  this  point  (1041)  the  Church  stepped 
in,  and  resolved  upon  mitigating,  if  ever  so  little,  the 
distress  from  which  the  lower  classes  of  society  were 
suffering.  Accordingly  an  edict  was  published, 
couched  pretty  nearly  in  the  following  terms  :  "  From 
the  Wednesday  evening  to  the  Monday  morning  in 
every  week,  on  high  festivals,  and  during  the  whole 
of  Advent  and  of  Lent,  all  deeds  of  warfare  are  ex- 
pressly forbidden.  It  shall  be  the  truce  of  God. 
Whosoever  violates  it  shall  compound  for  his  life,  or 
be  banished  from  the  country."     As  we  may  suppose. 


PHILIP  I.  21 

v/hilst  this  new  law  gave  the  greatest  satisfaction  to 
the  mass  of  the  population,  it  was  vigorously  resisted 
by  barons  such  as  the  Count  of  Anjou  and  the  Duke 
of  Normandy  ;  but  they  were  finally  obliged  to 
acquiesce  in  a  decision  which  was  so  beneficial  to 
society  at  large. 

Philip  I.  was  only  seven  years  old  when  he  suc- 
ceeded his  father.  Indolent  and  feeble,  he  saw  the 
whole  of  Western  Europe  rushing  in  various  direc- 
tions, carried  away  by  the  love  of  adventure,  without 
feeling  the  slightest  desire  to  follow  their  example. 
Considering  his  inert  disposition,  it  is  a  wonder  that 
Philip,  for  the  sake  of  joke,  should  have  exposed  him- 
self to  the  fury  of  such  a  man  as  William  the  Con- 
queror. "  When  will  that  fat  fellow  be  confined  ? " 
said  he,  alluding  to  the  King  of  England's  stoutness. 
"  I  shall  go  and  be  churched  in  Paris,  with  ten  thou- 
sand lances  instead  of  wax  tapers."  William  nearly 
kept  his  word  ;  marched  into  the  domains  of  the  King 
of  France,  destroying  everything,  burning  towns  and 
villages,  and  putting  the  inhabitants  to  the  sword. 
The  city  of  Mantes  was  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins, 
and  only  death  arrested  the  progress  of  the  infuriated 
William.  He  expired  at  Rouen  from  the  results  of 
a  wound  he  had  received  at  the  sacking  of  Mantes. 

Philip  carried  on,  with  the  same  indolence,  against 
William  Rufus  the  policy  of  antagonism  which  he 
had  displayed  in  his  relations  with  the  Conqueror,  and 
helped  to  swell  the  list  of  French  monarchs  excom- 
municated by  the  Pope  for  illegal  marriage.  He  died 
in  1 1 08. 


11. 


PILGRIMAGES   TO   THE    HOLY   LAND- 
CRUSADES — CHIVALRY. 


-THE 


An  old  writer  belonging  to  the  seventh  century, 
named  Marculphus,  has  left  under  the  title  of 
fonnnlce,  a  series  of  enactments  or  decisions  on  points 
of  law.  Amongst  these  documents  is  the  following 
curious  piece  of  which  we  give  a  translation  :  "  Be  it 
known  unto  you,  holy  fathers,  bishops,  abbots  and 
abbesses,  dukes,  counts,  vicars,  and  all  people 
believing  in  God  and  fearing  Him,  that  the  pil- 
grim   ,  a  native    of  ,  has  come    to    us    and 

asked    our    advice,    because,    incited    by   the    great 

enemy  of  mankind,  he  has  killed  his  own  son  or 

his  nephew •  ;  for  this  reason,  and  in  accordance 

with  custom  and  canon  law,  we  have  pronounced  that 
the  aforesaid  should  devote  • — •  }'ears  to  a  pil- 
grimage. When,  therefore, presents  himself  before 

you,  kindly  give  him  lotlging,  accommodation,  and 
fire,  bread  and  water,  and  allow  him  to  repair  at  once 
to  the  holy  places."  This  kind  of  passport  shown 
that  even  as  far  back  as  the  Merovingian  dynasty  pil- 
grimages to  Jerusalem  and  to  the  Holy  Land  in 
expiation  of  some  notorious  crime  or  act  of  wicked- 


'J  Sen' is 


•-.  \J 


I  Reims 


4*         -^» 


-V, 

Q 

■5- 


••3..-,- 

~|  ^uxerie    • 

'■  ■(■  jc  Nevers        <t 

^^  I.      i° 

V'v 

v-        i 

o 


oMontfqucon" 
,         /}  ^    B.OF  ^  ^  , 

;B.  .'of  Strasshurg* 


—t- 

i 

/' 

Q 
i  03 


I 


/O  „ 


>.^  ■vLyoris-— ..  It: 


^  /    <«     VC.  o F  A  L  B  O  N 

■Ai"    "N  - 


;  -*0  JSrerroble 


"7 A'  igimvr-if^ f~~o^ 

i      /         Nimes    /  ^>  o 


f  E  0.; 


Marse' 


m,%9' 


o-°;v^cE 


C    O    R    S    I    0 

(to  Pisa) 


J 


5.    a    Ki    e 


.•■s;-  fJcot  K'f  .:JS''         '^  ' 


FRANCE 

Before  the  Crusades 


""■■///;^'f-v  x<^-J• 


o 


COUNCIL    OF  CLERMONT,  23 

ness  were  of  frequent  occurrence.  The  culprit  had 
often  to  wear  around  his  neck,  his  waist,  and  his 
wrists,  chains  forged  out  of  his  own  armour,  thus  bear- 
ing about  him  both  the  memorials  of  his  social 
position  and  their  marks  of  his  misdeeds.  The  pil- 
grims started  on  their  long  and  dangerous  voyage,  and 
those  of  them  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  leturn 
home  after  a  protracted  absence,  brought  back  mar- 
vellous tales  respecting  the  sacred  relics  which  the 
Holy  City  offered  to  the  veneration  of  the  faithful, 
and  heart-rendering  stories  of  the  sufferings  which  the 
Europeans  had  to  bear  from  the  combined  Jews  and 
Mahometans, 

It  was  natural  that  in  course  of  time  pilgrimages  of 
this  kind  should  lead  to  military  interventions  ;  the 
earliest  appeal  to  arms  proceeded  from  a  Frenchman, 
Gerbert  of  Aurillac,  who  became  Pope  under  the 
name  of  Sylvester  II.  (1002)  ;  and  the  powerful 
eloquence  of  another  Frenchman,  Peter  the  Hermit, 
a  native  of  Picardy,  led  to  the  departure  of  the  first 
Crusading  army.  Well  might  the  Chronicler  Guibert 
de  Nogent  speak  of  these  expeditions  as  Gcsta  Dei 
per  Francos. 

A  general  council  had  been  announced  as  about  to 
meet  at  Clermont  on  the  i8th  of  November,  1095. 
An  immense  concourse  of  people  gathered  together, 
and  in  their  midst  appeared  a  man,  wretched  to  look 
at,  small  in  stature,  bare  arms  and  bare  feet  ;  his 
dress  was  a  species  of  woollen  tunic  and  a  cloak  of 
coarse  cloth.  That  was  Peter  the  Hermit ;  his  pierc- 
ing eye  seemed  to  penetrate  into  the  hearer's  heart, 
and  no  one  could  resist  the  earnestness  of  his  preaclv 


24  PILGRIMAGES    TO    THE   HOLY   LAND. 

ing  ;  he  had  just  arrived  from  Italy  where  he  had 
persuaded  Pope  Urban  II.  to  summon  the  people  to 
arms  on  behalf  of  the  Christian  faith.  The  answer  to 
his  discourse  was  unanimous  :  "  Diex  el  volt  !  Diex  el 
volt!"  ("God  wills  it")  resounded  on  all  sides,  and  several 
thousands  of  men,  fastening  to  their  garments,  as  a 
rallying  sign,  a  cross  cut  out  of  red  cloth,  expressed 
their  determination  of  starting  at  once  for  the  Holy 
Land.  The  army  was  indeed  a  motley  assemblage, 
and  the  van-guard  made  up  for  their  want  of  dis- 
cipline by  their  enthusiasm  and  their  simple  faith.  A 
nobleman  from  Burgundy  bearing  the  significant 
name  of  Gautier  sans  avoir  (Walter  the  Penniless), 
went  first,  leading  a  host  of  fifteen  thousand  men  ; 
then  came  Peter  the  Hermit  at  the  head  of  one 
hundred  thousand  pilgrims  ;  finally  a  German  priest, 
Gotteschalck,  followed  by  fifteen  thousand  more, 
formed  the  rear.  The  disorders  committed  by  all 
that  rabble  were  so  great  that  the  inhabitants  of  the 
countries  through  which  they  passed  rose  up  against 
them,  and  made  a  fearful  slaughter  of  them.  The 
handful  which  succeeded  in  reaching  the  shores  of 
Asia  Minor  fell  under  the  sword  of  the  Turks  in  the 
plains  of  Nicjipa,  all  but  three  thousand  men  and 
Peter  the  Hermit. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  real  warriors  of  the  ex- 
pedition were  preparing  and  mustering  to  the  number 
of  six  hundred  thousand  foot  soldiers  and  one  hun- 
dred thousand  cavalry.  They,  too,  formed  three 
divisions.  The  first,  consisting  of  men  from  the 
northern  districts  (Lorraine  and  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine),  went  through  the  basin  of  the  Danube  ;  they 


GODFREY  OF  BOULOGNE  IN  THE  MOVING  TOWER, 


26  PILGRIMAGES    TO    THE    HOLY   LAND. 

were  commanded  by  Godefroi  de  Bouillon  ^Godfrey  of 
Boulogne  ,  Duke  of  Lower  Lorraine,  a  descendant  of 
Charlemagne,  and  particularly  distinguished  by  his 
courage,  his  loyalty,  and  his  genuine  piety.  The 
next  cjrps,  consisting  of  the  Crusaders  belonging  to 
the  central  provinces  (Normandy,  France,  and  Bur- 
gundy;, under  the  orders  of  Hugues,  Count  of  Ver- 
mandois,  Robert,  Duke  of  Normandy,  and  Stephen, 
Count  of  Blois,  went  to  embark  in  the  seaports  of  the 
kingdom  of  Naples.  Raymond  of  Saint  Gilles, 
Count  of  Toulouse,  and  the  Bishop  of  Le  Pu)-,  were 
at  the  head  of  the  third  division,  chiefly  composed  of 
men  from  Southern  France.  They  marched  through 
the  Alps,  and  afterwards  through  Friuli  and  Dalmatia. 
The  general  rejuiezvous  was  Constantinople. 

The  opposition  of  character  between  the  Franks, 
rough,  warlike,  and  uncultivated  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  effeminate,  astute,  plausible  and  servile  Byzantines 
on  the  other,  led  to  disagreeables  and  to  collisions, 
which  it  required  all  the  diplomatic  skill  of  the 
Emperor  Alexis  to  minimize  and  to  smooth  away. 
He  contrived  to  exact  from  the  chiefs  of  the  expedi- 
tion the  promise  that  they  would  do  him  homage  for 
whatever  territories  they  might  happen  to  conquer 
in  Asia  Minor,  and  he  felt  considerable  relief  when 
the  last  soldier  of  the  army  had  left  Europe.  The 
Crusaders  started  at  the  beginning  of  the  spring  of 
1097,  and  on  the  15th  of  May  they  laid  siege  to 
Nica^a.  There  as  well  as  at  Dorylaeum  they  signally 
defeated  the  Turks,  and  arrived  before  Antioch  on  the 
1 8th  of  October.  By  this  time  the  invading  army 
was  very  much  reduced,  for  on  llicir  way  they  were 


THE    CRUSADERS   IN  ASIA.  27 

naturally  obliged  to  leave  garrisons  at  all  the  points 
most  liable  to  be  attacked,  without  taking  any  ac- 
count of  the  results  of  famine,  sickness,  and  other 
such  causes.  The  capture  of  Antioch  after  a  siege  of 
six  months  proved  to  be  another  serious  calamity, 
inasmuch  as  the  Crusaders,  in  order  to  indemnify 
themselves,  so  to  say,  for  the  hardships  and  toils  ot 
the  journey,  indulged  in  excesses  which  rendered 
them  pecuHarly  liable  to  be  attacked  by  pestilential 
diseases.  The  wisest  course  would  have  been  to  march 
straight  towards  Jerusalem,  instead  of  which  they 
lingered  for  six  months  in  Antioch,  and  a  consider- 
able proportion  of  them  were  struck  down  by  the 
plague.  The  remainder,  fifty  thousand  in  number, 
skirting  as  closely  as  possible  the  Mediterranean 
seashore  in  order  to  keep  in  communication  with  the 
Genoese,  on  whom  they  depended  for  provisions, 
arrived  at  last  in  view  of  the  Holy  City.  The 
assault  took  place  on  the  14th  of  July,  1099,  at  break 
of  day,  Tancred  de  Hauteville  and  Godefroi  de 
Bouillon  were  the  first  to  penetrate  into  the  city. 
The  struggle  was  terrible  ;  the  Mahometans  occupied 
the  mosque  of  Omar,  where  they  vigorously  defended 
themselves  ;  fighting  went  on  from  street  to  street ; 
one  chronicler  tells  us  that  the  horses  waded  in  blood, 
and  it  is  certain  that  acts  of  unparalleled  cruelty  were 
committed.  When  the  work  of  actual  conquest  was 
over,  and  the  next  thing  was  to  organize  the  new 
empire,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Crusaders  sobered 
down,  and  the  thoughts  of  many  went  homewards. 
Godefroi  and  Tancred  gradually  saw  their  companions 
forsake  them  and  return  to  Europe  ;  only  three  hun- 


Z8  PILGRIMAGES    TO    THE   HOLY  LAND. 

dred  knights  remained  faithful  to  the  cause  which 
they  had  embraced.  Fifty  years  elapsed  before  a 
fresh  Crusade  was  attempted. 

It  is  interesting  to  see  the  feudal  system  introduced 
in  the  East  amongst  Biblical  associations  ;  fiefs  were 
established  on  exactly  the  same  plan  as  those  in 
Europe  ;  the  principalities  of  Antioch  and  of  Edessa 
were  governed  respectively  by  Bohemond  and  Bald- 
win ;  to  them  were  added  later  on  the  countship 
of  Tripoli  and  the  marquisate  of  Tyre.  There  were 
lordships  and  feudal  tenures  at  Tiberias,  Ramlah, 
Jaffa.  A  code  of  laws  was  indispensable  for  the 
proper  government  of  the  European  colony;  Godefroi 
de  Bouillon,  now  King  of  Jerusalem,  caused  it  to  be 
compiled  under  the  title  of  "Assises  de  Jerusalem," 
"a  precious  monument,"  says  Gibbon,  "of  feudal  juris- 
prudence. The  new  code,  attested  by  the  seals  of  the 
King,  the  Patriarch,  and  the  Viscount  of  Jerusalem, 
was  deposited  in  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  enriched  with 
the  improvements  of  succeeding  times,  and  respect- 
fully consulted  as  often  as  any  question  arose  in  the 
Tribunals  of  Palestine.  With  the  kingdom  and  city 
all  was  lost  ;  the  fragments  of  the  written  law  were 
preserved  by  jealous  traditions  and  variable  practice 
till  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  ;  the  code 
was  restored  by  the  pen  of  John  d'Ibelin,  Count  of 
Jaffa,  one  of  the  principal  feudatories  ;  and  the  final 
revision  was  accomplished  in  the  year  1 369,  for  the  use 
of  the  Latin  kingdom  of  Cyprus."  ^  Although  the  te.Kt 
of  the  Assises  in  the  form  we  have  it  now  is  not  by  far 
of  so  old  a  date  as  was  at  first  supposed,  yet  it  is  about 
'  Gibbon,  "  iJecl.nc  and  Fall,"  chap.  Iviii. 


''assises   DE   yERUSALEMJ"  29 

sixty  years  older  than  the  Coutiiviicrs,  or  law  compila- 
tions used  in  Europe,  and  has  therefore  consider- 
able interest  ;  it  is  one  of  the  fullest  and  most 
trustworthy  sources  of  information  respecting  the 
feudal  system.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  Assises, 
from  the  political  point  of  view,  establish  the 
sovereignty  of  the  nation  as  represented  by  the 
aristocracy  and  the  bourgeoisie.  "The  justice  and 
freedom  of  the  constitution,"  we  still  quote  Gibbon, 
"  were  maintained  by  two  tribunals  of  unequal  dig- 
nity. .  .  .  The  king,  in  person,  presided  in  the  upper 
court,  the  court  of  the  barons.  Of  these  the  four  most 
conspicuous  were  the  Prince  of  Galilee,  the  Lord  of 
Sidon  and  C^esarea,  and  the  Counts  of  Jaffa  and  Tri- 
poli, who,  perhaps,  with  the  constable  and  marshal,  were 
in  a  special  manner  the  compeers  and  judges  of  each 
other.  But  all  the  nobles  who  held  their  lands  im- 
mediately of  the  crown  were  entitled  and  bound  to 
attend  the  king's  court ;  and  each  baron  exercised  a 
similar  jurisdiction  in  the  subordinate  assemblies  of 
his  own  feudatories.  The  connection  of  lord  and 
vassal  was  honourable  and  voluntary  ;  reverence  was 
due  to  the  benefactor,  protection  to  the  dependant ;  but 
they  mutually  pledged  their  faith  to  each  other,  and 
the  obligation  on  either  side  might  be  suspended  by 
neglect,  or  dissolved  by  injury."  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that,  with  the  "  Assises  de  Jerusalem  "  a  model  of 
political  liberty  was  introduced  in  Asia,  the  first  and 
indispensable  condition  of  these  law^s  being  the  assent 
of  those  whose  obedience  they  required,  and  for  whose 
benefit  they  were  designed. 

The  .share  which  the  French  took  in  the  Crusades 


30  PILGRIMAGES    TO    THE   HOLY   LAND. 

makes  of  that  event  an  important  part  in  their 
national  history.  The  first,  as  we  have  just  seen,  was 
nearly  exclusively  their  work  ;  they  divided  the 
second  (1147)  with  the  Germans,  the  third  (1190) 
with  the  English,  the  fourth  (1202)  with  the  Venetians. 
The  fifth  (12 17)  and  the  sixth  (1228J  hardly  deserve 
to  be  noticed  ;  the  seventh  (1248)  and  the  eighth 
(1270)  were  solely  and  entirely  PVench.  The  move- 
ment of  expansion  which  led,  at  an  interval  of  fifteen 
centuries,  the  inhabitants  of  ancient  Gaul  to  break 
through  their  frontiers  and  visit  foreign  climes  is 
worth  noting.  They  crossed  the  Pyrenees,  as  the 
Celtiberians  ^lad  done  ;  the  British  Channel,  as  the 
Belgse  and  the  Kymri  ;  the  Alps,  as  the  Boii  and  the 
Insubres  ;  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube,  as  those  tribes 
who  went  to  set  Alexander  at  defiance,  plundered 
Delphi,  and  struck  Asia  with  fear.  In  all  these  cases 
the  courage  and  daring  displayed  were  the  same,  but 
in  that  of  the  Crusades  the  moving  power  was  totally 
different.  Formerly  the  French  emigrated  in  quest 
of  fortune  and  of  material  prosperity  ;  when  they 
took  up  the  badge  of  the  cross  and  marched  towards 
Jerusalem,  they  were  actuated  by  a  moral  principle 
which  doubled  their  energy  and  sanctified  their 
actions.  M.  Cox  ("  Epochs  of  History")  has  summed 
up  as  follows  the  chief  results  of  the  Crusades  : — 

"  We  must  not  forget  that  by  rolling  back  the  tide 
of  Mahometan  conquest  from  Constantinople  for 
upwards  of  four  centuries,  they  probably  saved 
Europe  from  horrors  the  recital  of  which  might 
even  now  make  our  cars  tingle  ;  that  by  weaken- 
ing   the    resources    and    power    of    the    barons    they 


RESULTS   OF   THE   CRCSADES.  3 1 

strengthened  the  authority  of  the  kings  acting  in 
alliance  with  the  citizens  of  the  great  towns  ;  that 
this  alliance  broke  up  the  feudal  system,  gradually 
abolished  serfdom,  and  substituted  the  authority  of  a 
common  law  for  the  arbitrary  will  of  chiefs,  who  for 
real  or  supposed  affronts  rushed  to  the  arbitrament  of 
private  war.  .  ,  ,  These  enterprises  have  affected  the 
commonwealth  of  Europe  in  ways  of  which  the 
promoters  never  dreamed.  They  left  a  wider  gulf 
between  the  Greek  and  the  Latin  Churches,  between 
the  subjects  of  the  Eastern  Empire  and  the  nations 
of  Western  Europe  ;  but  by  the  mere  fact  of  throwing 
East  and  West  together  they  led  gradually  to  that 
interchange  of  thought  and  that  awakening  of  the 
human  intellect  to  which  we  owe  all  that  distinguishes 
our  modern  civilization  from  the  religious  and  political 
systems  of  the  Middle  Ages."  We  must  not  forget 
trade,  commerce,  and  manufactures,  which  received 
from  the  Crusades  a  wonderful  development  ;  in  the 
first  place,  the  necessity  of  providing  the  armies  of  the 
Crusaders  with  arms,  clothing,  harness,  horses,  &c.,  led 
to  an  increase  of  industry  which  has  never  stopped 
since  ;  in  the  second  place,  the  markets  of  Europe 
being  now  supplied  with  the  produce  of  Asia,  a  new^ 
source  of  financial  prosperity  was  opened,  and  soon 
became  most  popular. 

The  foundation  of  religious  orders  of  knighthood 
was  another  result  of  the  Crusades  ;  thus,  in  1 100,  a 
Provencal  gentleman,  Gerard  de  Martigues  formed 
the  Order  of  the  Knights  Hospitallers,  subsequently 
known  as  the  Knights  of  Rhodes,  and  then  as  the 
Knights    of   Malta.      The   Knights   of    the    Temple, 


KING  OF  THE  TENTH   CENTURY. 


CHIVALRY.  33 

established  (1118)  by  the  Frenchman  Iluf^ues  des 
Payens,  soon  became  formidable  opponents  of  the 
Hopitallcr^,  and  whilst  carr\-iiig  on  against  each  other 
a  very  bitter  feud,  they  were  both  equally  suspected 
by  the  Church  and  dreaded  by  the  kings  of  the 
various  countries  to  which  they  belonged. 

Chivalry  is  an  institution  which  both  affected  the 
character  of  the  Crusades,  and  received  from  them 
in  return  a  powerful  impulse ;  it  was  another  means 
by  which  the  nobles  separated  themselves  from  the 
people,  for  no  one  might  be  a  knight  but  a  man  of 
high  birth.  At  the  early  age  of  seven  he  was  re- 
moved from  the  care  of  women,  and  placed  in  the 
household  of  some  lord  or  baron,  who  was  supposed 
to  give  him  the  example  of  all  chivalrous  virtues. 
As  page,  varlet,  or  danioiseau,  the  lad  accompanied 
the  lord  and  lady  of  the  manor  on  their  rides, 
their  excursions,  their  hawking  parties,  &c.,  and  thus 
trained  himself  to  the  fatigues  of  war.  At  fifteen 
the  page  or  varlet  passed  on  to  the  higher  rank  of  an 
eaiyer  (Squire)  ;  he  might  be  an  ecuyer  d'honneiir  or 
ecuyer  de  corps  in  personal  attendance  upon  his  master 
or  mistress  ;  as  cciiycr  tranchant  he  carved  for  them  in 
the  dining-hall  ;  as  ecuyer  d'annes  he  carried  the 
baron's  lance  and  the  various  parts  of  his  armour,  and 
whatever  rank  he  occupied,  he  endeavoured,  by  some 
act  of  courage,  to  merit  the  coveted  honour  of  re- 
ceiving, at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  the  order  of 
knighthood. 

"  At  last  the  day  came  which  was  to  hold  so  im- 
portant a  place  in  the  young  man's  life.  He  prepared 
himself  for  the  initiation  by  symbolic  ceremonies.     A 


34 


PILGRIMAUES    TO    THE   HOLY  LAND. 


bath,  signifying  the  purity  both  of  the  body  and  of 
the  soul,  the  night-watch,  confession  often  made  aloud, 
the  holy  communion,  preceded  the  reception  of  the 
young  knight.  Clothed  in  vestments  of  white  linen, 
another  symbol  of  moral  purity,  he  was  led  to  the 
altar  by  two  discreet  men  of  tried  courage  and  ex- 
perience, who  acted  as  his  military  sponsors.     A  priest 


KNIGHT    AND    ARMS. 

celebrated  mass  and  consecrated  the  sword.  The 
baron,  whose  business  it  was  to  arm  the  new  cham- 
pion, struck  him  on  the  shoulder  with  the  sword- 
blade,  saying  to  him,  '  I  make  thee  a  knight  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.'  He  then  bade  him  swear  to  em- 
ploy his  weapons  in  defence  of  the  weak  and  the 
oppressed,  embraced  him,  and  girt  him  with  his  sword. 


HERALDRY.  35 

The  ceremony  often  concluded  with  a  tournament. 
Chivalry  conferred  privileges  and  imposed  duties. 
Formed  in  associations,  and  bound  together  by  a 
sentiment  of  honour  and  of  fraternity,  the  knights 
defended  each  other,  and  if  one  of  them  behaved  in 
a  disloyal  or  dishonourable  manner,  he  was  solemnly 
disgraced  and  condemned  to  death.  Courtesy  and 
respect  for  the  weaker  sex  were  virtues  always  ex- 
pected from  a  knight. "^ 

Chivalry  was,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a  kind  of 
family,  and  as  a  natural  result  of  that  idea  sprang  up  the 
science  of  heraldry  and  the  habit  of  armorial  bearings. 
The  warriors  of  antiquity,  it  is  true,  caused  to  be 
painted  on  their  shields  their  banners,  and  their  arms, 
the  devices,  colours  and  emblems  by  which  they 
might  be  distinguished  from  a  distance  ;  but  these 
symbols  were  essentially  personal  and  peculiar  to 
the  individuals  who  wore  them.  Mediaeval  heraldry 
was  a  totally  different  thing  ;  armorial  bearings 
formed  a  family  distinction,  the  more  important  in 
proportion  as  it  could  be  traced  further  back. 

"  N'i  a  riche  home  ne  Baron, 
Ki  n'ait  lez  li  son  gonfanon, 
U  gonfanon  u  altre  enseigne. " 

"  There  is  no  rich  man  nor  Baron 
Who  has  not  his  banner  near  him, 
Either  banner  or  other  standard." 

Thus  says  Robert Wace  in  his  "Roman  de  Rou,"  and, 
of  course,  the  standard  or  pennon  was  characterized 
by  a  distinctive  cognizance  of  some  kind.     The  habit 

'  Cheruel,  "  Dictionnaire  des  Institutions,"  &c. 


36  PILGRIMAGES    TO    THE   HOLY   LAND. 

soon  spread  of  reproducing  the  armorial  bearings,  not 
only  on  the  shield,  but  on  the  helmet,  the  trappings  of 
the  horses,  the  castle  gates,  the  furniture,  the  dresses 
of  the  ladies — on  everything,  in  fact,  which  belonged 
to  the  family.  Colleges  of  heralds  were  instituted, 
with  laws,  rules,  and  a  procedure  of  their  own  ; 
corporations,  guilds,  confraternities  of  every  kind  had 
their  devices,  their  mottoes,  and  their  crests.  Raymond 
de  Saint  Gilles,  Count  of  Toulouse  (1047-1105),  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  first  baron  who  boasted  of 
real  armorial  bearings,  and  the  leopards  which  appear 
on  the  royal  standard  of  England  are  thought  to 
have  originated  from  the  animals  painted  in  gold, 
which  ornamented  the  shield  of  Geoffrey  Plantagenet 
(about  1 1 27). 

To  the  creation  of  chivalry  we  must  also  ascribe 
the  origin  of  family  names.  Till  then  names  had 
merely  been  personal,  each  man  only  bearing  the 
one  which  he  had  received  at  his  baptism  ;  this,  how- 
ever, was  soon  found  insufficient  ;  some  then  added  to 
their  own  names  that  of  their  fathers  ;  others  adopted 
familiar  sobriquets,  such  as  /e  Blanc,  le  Bon,  Divitnrier, 
Tardif,  &c.,  or  designations  borrowed  from  their  pro- 
fession {Le  Maire,  Prevot,  Le  Boiiteillier,  8ic.),  or  trade 
{BoncJier,  CJiarpenticr,  Flcdiier,  &c.).  Many  were 
satisfied  with  adding  the  designation  of  their  native 
place,  or  some  other  local  peculiarity,  such  as  Guil- 
laume  de  Lorris,  Bernard  de  Ventadour,  Jean  de  la 
Vigne,  &c. 

As  it  might  naturally  be  expected,  the  literature 
and  fine  arts  in  France,  as  well  as  in  all  the  countries 
throughout    Europe,  were    powerfully  influenced   by 


38  EARLY  FRENCH  LITERATURE. 

the  two  movements  we  have  just  described — chivalry 
and  the  Crusades.  Up  to  the  eleventh  century,  the 
Church  had  enjoj-ed,  if  we  may  so  say,  the  monopoly 
of  intellectual  culture,  and  illustrious  as  are  Hincmar, 
Roscelin,  and  Berenger,we  can  hardly  call  them  French 
writers  ;  the  earliest  specimens  of  the  national  litera- 
ture of  France,  with  the  exception  of  the  famous 
"  Strasburg  Oaths,"  belong  to  the  tenth  century  ;  they 
are  the  cantilene,  or  song  of  Sainte  Eulalie,  a  poem 
on  the  Passion,  a  life  of  St.  Leger,  and  a  poem  on 
Boethius. 

Tiie  River  Loire,  which  runs  through  France  from 
the  south-east  to  the  west,  divides  the  country  into 
two  unequa!  parts,  each  of  which  had  during  the 
Middle  Ages  a  legislation,  a  language,  and  a  litera- 
ture of  its  own.  South  of  the  Loire  was  the  country 
of  Langiie  d'oc,  so  called  because  the  term  indicating 
affirmation  in  that  language  was  oc  (L.  /loc).  This 
region  included  necessarily  a  considerable  number  of 
dialects  which  together  with  many  grammatical 
peculiarities  had  one  common  feature:  "The  general 
language  was  distinguished  from  Northern  French  by 
the  survival  to  a  greater  degree  of  the  vowel  cha- 
racter of  Latin.  The  vocabulary  was  less  dissolved 
and  corroded  by  foreign  influence,  and  the  inflections 
remained  more  distinct.  The  result,  as  in  Spanish 
and  Italian,  was  a  language  more  harmonious,  softer, 
and  more  cunningly  cadenccd  than  Northern  French, 
bui;  endowed  with  far  less  vigour,  variety,  and 
freshness."  ^ 

North  of  the  Loire  we  find  the  Laitgue  cfoil  (L, 

'  Saintbbury,  "  History  of  French  Literature." 


SUByECTS    TREATED   BY  POETS.  39 

Hoc  illud),  which,  after  a  series  of  important  modifica- 
tions, was  destined  to  survive  its  rival,  and  to  become 
the  language  of  modern  France. 

Poetry  was  here,  as  in  all  countries,  the  earliest 
form  of  literature,  and  when  a  twelfth-century  poet 
wanted  to  exercise  his  skill  and  his  imaginative 
powers  on  some  subject  or  person  worthy  of  being 
celebrated,  he  had  his  choice  out  of  three  classes  of 
topics  equally  well  calculated  to  interest  his  hearers  : 
(i)  Classical  antiquity  offered  to  his  genius  or  his 
talent  many  a  noble  and  inspiriting  theme  (Alex- 
ander the  Great  and  his  campaigns,  the  siege  of  Troy, 
&c.,  &c.)  ;  (2)  National  history  teemed  with  glorious 
names  which  might  well  kindle  enthusiasm  within 
the  breast  of  a  true  poet  (Charlemagne,  Roland, 
Doon  of  Mentz,  Hugh  Capet,  &c.)  ;  (3)  The  wonder- 
ful exploits  of  King  Arthur  and  the  Knights  of  the 
Round  Table,  the  magic  powers  of  Merlin  the  En- 
chanter, the  Quest  of  the  Holy  Grail,  were  a  source 
of  composition  not  less  abundant,  nor  less  interesting, 
than  the  two  others.  A  native  of  Arras,  Jean  Bodel, 
himself  the  author  of  one  of  the  chief  mediaeval  epics, 
"  La  Chanson  des  Saxons,"  has  described  with  much 
accuracy,  in  the  following  lines,  the  difference  which 
separates  these  three  categories  of  poems  from  each 
other — 


'  Ne  sont  que  trois  matieres  a  mil  home  entandant : 
De  France,  et  de  Bretaigne,  et  de  Rome  la  grant  : 
Et  de  ces  trois  matieres  n"i  a  nule  semblant  {resemblance) ; 
Li  conte  de  Bretaigne  sont  si  vain  {frivolous)  et  plaisant ; 
Cil  {those)  de  Rome  sont  sage  et  de  san  {sense,  reason)  aprenant. 
Cil  de  France  de  voir  {triilh)  chaque  jor  apparant." 

4955  7 


40  CHANSON  DE   GESTES. 

■■  There  are  only  three  subjects  for  a  clever  man  : 
France,  Brittany,  and  Rome  the  great : 
And  there  is  no  similarity  between  these  three  subjects ; 
The  tales  of  Brittany  are  frivolous  and  pleasing, 
Those  of  Rome  are  wise  and  sensible  ; 
Those  of  France  tell  us  the  truth  every  day." 

The  compositions  borrowed  either  from  classical 
antiquity  or  from  national  traditions  {CJiaiison  de 
Roland,  Doon  de  JMaycnce,  Aliscans,  Ogier  le  Danois) 
bore  the  common  name  of  cha)isous  de  geste,  because 
they  treated  of  the  high  deeds  (L.  gestd)  of  the  heroes 
of  ancient  time.  As  we  are  not  writing  here  a  history 
of  French  literature,  we  shall  not  enter  into  any 
further  details  about  these  works  ;  we  need  only  say 
that  in  describing  the  lives  and  actions  of  men  long 
gone  by,  poets  of  the  twelfth  century  could  not  help 
ascribing  to  Charlemagne's  contemporaries  or  even  to 
the  companions  of  the  King  of  Macedon,  the  manners 
and  customs  amidst  which  they  themselves  lived  ; 
and  so  it  is  that  the  most  complete  and  minute  his- 
tory of  chivalry  in  all  its  details  and  particulars  is  to  be 
found  in  the  works  of  the  Trouvcres  {Troubadours  in 
Langued'oc)  recited  or  sung  by  them  and  b}'  their  at- 
tend ingy<:w^/^//rj-  in  the  palaces  of  the  feudal  lords,  or 
in  \.\\Q.eours  d' amour  oi  Provence  and  Aquitaine.  We 
may  say  in  concluding  this  part  of  our  subject,  that 
the  literature  of  Southern  France  does  not  boast  of 
any  c/iansoJi  de  geste,  so  far  as  we  know,  except  the 
Girartz  de  Rossillio,  and  an  epic  on  Alexander  the 
Great  by  Auberi  of  Besancon,  the  first  hundred  lines 
of  which  have  alone  been  handed  down  to  us. 

The  Crusades  could  not  but  infuse  fresh  vigour 
into  literature,  either  by  stirring  up  the  zeal  of  those 


SIRVENTES.  41 

who  had  already  been  moved  by  the  eloquence  of 
popular  preachers,  or  by  denouncing  to  universal  con- 
tempt the  cowards  who  refused  to  join  the  expedi- 
tions. Irony  and  faith  on  this  occasion  combined 
their  forces,  and  what  sermons  often  failed  to  do  was 
accomplished  by  those  short  satirical  pieces  to  which 
the  name  of  sirvente  has  been  given  (from  servir, 
sa}'s  Dietz,  because  it  is  composed  by  a  retainer  in 
the  service  of  his  master^ — • 

"  Or  s'en  iront  cil  vaillant  bacheler 
Ki  aiment  Dieu  et  I'onour  de  cest  mont, 
Ki  sagement  voelent  a  Dieu  aller, 
Et  li  morveus,  li  cendreus  demourront." 

"  Now  the  valiant  bachelors  will  go 
Who  love  God  and  the  honour  of  this  world, 
Who  wisely  wish  to  go  to  God, 
And  the  cowards,  the  base,  will  remain." 

Thus    said    the    King    of   Navarre ;    we    can    under 
stand,  however,  that  before  leaving,  a  knight  such  as 
Guillaume    de     Poitiers    would     turn    many    a    time 
towards  the  family  castle,  and  exclaim,  his  eyes  full 
of  tears — 

"  Aissi  lais  tot  quant  amer  suelh  (L.  soLhaiii) 
Cavalairia  et  orguelh  ! 
Li  departir  de  la  doulce  contree 
Oil  la  belle  est,  m'a  mis  en  grant  tristor. 

Laissier  m'estuest  {nie faut)  la  riens  (chose,  L.  ;vw)  qu'ai  plus  amee 
Por  Dom  le  Uieu  servir,  mon  criator." 

"  I  leave  here  all  that  I  used  to   ove. 
Tournaments  and  magnificence. 
The  fact  of  quitting  the  pleasant  country, 
Where  is  my  lady-love,  has  plunged  me  in  great  sorrow. 
I  must  leave  what  I  have  most  loved, 
In  order  to  serve  the  Lord  God  my  creator," 


42  BERTRAM  DE   BORN. 

Often  a  faint-hearted  knight,  having  quieted  his 
conscience  by  an  insignificant  expedition,  tried  to 
come  back  stealthily  to  his  baronial  halls ;  the 
sirvejite  immediately  seized  upon  him,  and  denounced 
him  to  public  contempt,  adding  in  cutting  invective 
to  the  curses  of  the  Church — 

"  Marques,  li  monges  (tnoines)  de  Clunhic, 
Veuilh  que  fasson  de  vos  capdel, 

0  siatz  abbas  de  Cystilh, 

Pus  le  cor  avetz  tan  niendic  [faiivi'i) 

Que  mais  (miezix)  amatz  dos  buous  et  un  araire, 

A  Montfenat  qu'alors  estr'  emperuieur." 

"  Marquis,  the  monks  of  Cluny, 

1  wish  that  they  may  make  of  you  their  captain, 
Or  that  you  may  be  abbot  of  Citeaux, 

Since  you  have  a  heart  so  base 

As  to  prefer  two  oxen  and  a  plough 

At  Montfernat,  than  to  be  emperor  elsewhere." 

One  of  the  most  formidable  amongst  these  fighting 
troubadours  was  Bertram  de  Born,  a  Provencal 
nobleman,  who  spent  his  life  in  warring  against  his 
neighbours,  destroying  their  castles,  plundering  their 
domains,  and  then  slandering  them  in  his  sirvcutcs. 
Dante  has  given  him  a  place  of  honour  in  his 
"Inferno,"  where  he  represents  him  (canto  xxviii.) 
carrying  his  head  in  his  hands — 

"And  so  that  thou  may  carry  news  of  me, 
Know  that  Bertram  de  Born  am  I,  the  same 
Who  gave  to  the  young  king  (Richard  of  England)  the  evil  comfort." 

Bertram  de  Born  called  severely  to  task  Philip 
Augustus  and  Richard  Coeur-de-Lion,  the  latter  of 
whom  he  ironically  nick- named  j/^rt;  and  nay,  in  order 
to  taunt  him  for  his  irresolution.     lie  urged  them  both 


ROBEKI     WAGE.  43 

to  go  to  the  Holy  Land  ;  then  when  the  moment  came 
for  starting,  he,  for  his  own  part,  remained  at  home, 
and  set  his  conscience  at  ease  by  composing  a  sirvente 
against  himself.     Thus  it  is  that  in  the  case  of  France 
as  well  as  of  other  countries,  the  popular  literature  of 
the  day  throws  almost  as  much  light  upon  the  politi- 
cal state  of  the  country  as  professed  chronicles  and 
histories ;     but    besides    the  fabliaux,    the   sirvcntes, 
the  tcnsons,  and   the  pastourclles  of  the   troubadours 
and  troiivcrcs,  there  are  several  poetical  compositions 
which,  under  the  name  of  ronians,  are  nothing  more 
or  less  than  historical  compositions,  possessing  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  authenticity,  and  compiled  from  Latin 
originals.     Thus  we  may  name  the  "  Roman  de  Rou  " 
and  the  "Roman  de  Brut,"  by  Robert  Wace  (1162- 
1182),    of  whom    a    distinguished    modern   historian, 
Mr.  Freeman,  has  said,  "  The  name  of  Wace  I  can 
never  utter  without  thankfulness,  as  that  of  one  who 
has  preserved  to  us  the  most  minute  and,  as  I  fully 
believe,   next   to  the  contemporary  sketch-w^ork,  the 
most  trustworthy  narrative  of  the  central  scene  of  mj- 
history."     Respecting  the  word  roman  itself,  we  must 
be  careful  to  observe  that  it  had  by  no  means  in  the 
Middle  Ages  the  signification  applied  to  it  b}'  modern 
usage.       It    denoted    then    a   narrative    containing  a 
greater   or  smaller  proportion   of  real   fact,  and   re- 
cording the  deeds  of  historical  characters.     We  shall 
say  nothing  about  the  "  Roman  de  Brut,"  which  refers 
to  the  history  of  England  ;  but  the  "  Roman  de  Rou" 
is   strictly   and  closely  connected   with   France,   and 
deserves  a  mention  here.      The  following  lines   fix 
the  date  of  its  composition — - 


44  "ROMAN   DE   ROU. 

"  Mil  et  cent  et  soixante  ans  eut  de  temps  et  d'espace 
Puis  que  Diex  en  la  Vierge  descendi  par  sa  grace  : 
Quand  un  Clercde  Caen,  qui  et  nom  Maistre  Wace, 
S'entremist  de  Tistoire  de  Rou  et  de  sarace." 

*'  One  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty  years  had  elapsed, 
Since  God,  by  His  gr.ice,  came  into  the  Virgin, 
When  a  CKrk  of  Caen,  byname  Wace, 
Wrote  the  history  of  Rollo,  and  of  his  race." 

The  poem  we  are  now  describing  consists  of  seven- 
teen thousand  hnes  ;  the  first  part  of  it  gives  the 
biography  of  the  early  Dukes  of  Normandy  ;  Rollo 
(Ron,  hence  the  title  of  the  work),  William  Longue- 
Epee,  and  Richard  I.  ;  it  is  the  least  valuable  portion, 
from  the  historical  point  of  view  ;  the  second  division, 
on  the  contrary,  based  upon  the  chronicle  of  a  cer- 
tain William  of  Jumieges,  is  extremely  precious  for 
the  information  it  contains.  Ttie  Benedictine  scholars, 
Montfaucon  and  Lancelot,  used  it  as  a  kind  of  com- 
mentary on  the  celebrated  Bayeux  Tapestry,  which 
gives,  as  all  readers  know,  a  pictorial  view  of  the 
Battle  of  Hastings,  and  the  events  which  immediately 
preceded  it.  The  entire  "  Roman  de  Rou "  takes 
us  as  far  as  the  reign  of  Henry  I.  (iio6),  and  Robert 
Wace  was  rewarded  by  the  King  of  England  with 
a  canonry  in  the  church  of  Bayeux.  The  annalist 
found  a  somewhat  formidable  rival  in  Benoit  de 
Sainte  Maure,  who,  by  the  express  command  of 
Henry  H.,  wrote  a  history  of  the  Dukes  of  Nor- 
mand)',  beginning  with  the  invasions  of  the  Northmen 
under  Hastings,  and  ending  with  the  reign  of  William 
the  Conqueror.  This  chronicle,  extending  to  twenty- 
three  thotisand  lines,  is  of  second-rate  historical  merit. 

The  Crusades  had  their  historians,  as  we  may  well 


RICHARD    THE   PILGRIM.  45 

suppose,  the  principal  being  Tudebod,  Robert  the 
Monk,  and  especially  William  of  Tyre.  Out  of  the 
materials  supplied  by  these  Latin  chroniclers,  a  cer- 
tain tronvcrc  named  Richard  the  Pilgrim,  composed  a 
poem  entitled  "  La  Chanson  d'Antioche,"  which  was 
revised  and  almost  re-written  during  the  thirteenth 
century  by  Graindor,  a  native  of  Douai. 

Richard  the  Pilgrim  accompanied  Godefroi  de 
Bouillon  to  Palestine  ;  he  is  supposed  to  have  been 
one  of  the  retainers  of  the  Count  of  Flanders,  and  he 
appears  to  have  died  before  the  capture  of  Jerusalem. 
The  work  which  has  immoralizcd  his  name  is  of  equal 
value  if  we  consider  it  as  a  specimen  of  literary  com- 
position and  a  faithful  record  of  the  events  which 
marked  the  first  Crusade.  "'  Every  page  of  his  narra- 
tive bears  evidence  to  the  fact  that  he  was  an  eye-wit- 
ness of  the  incidents  he  relates,  even  in  the  most  indif- 
ferent and  casual  circumstances.  Talking,  for  instance, 
of  three  knights  who  refused  to  do  their  duty,  he  says  : 
'  I  know  well  who  they  are,  but  I  shall  not  name 
them.'  Thoroughly  conscientious,  Richard  the  Pilgrim 
describes  faith  ully  all  the  episodes  of  the  Crusade 
and  analyses  with  much  im.partiality  the  characters  of 
the  various  leaders,  the  motives  of  their  actions,  and 
the  feelings  by  which  they  were  moved.  Thus  Bohe- 
mond  is  represented  more  than  once  as  trembling,  and 
needing  to  be  reminded  of  his  duty.  The  Duke  of 
Normandy  appears,  exactly  as  the  local  historian 
describes  him,  to  have  been,  brave,  but  light-hearted, 
impetuous,  easily  put  out  of  temper,  and  allowing 
himself  too  often  to  be  prejudiced.  A  native  of  Nor- 
thern P'rance,  our  trouvere  very  naturally  dwells  more 


46  PHILIP  I. 

especiall}-  upon  the  heroism  of  his  conipafriotes.  The 
warriors  of  Flanders,  Artois,  and  Picardy  are  those  in 
whom  he  feels  chiefly  interested."  ^  We  shall  have^ 
later  on,  to  dwell  in  greater  detail  upon  the  real 
literary  historians  of  the  Crusades  ;  but  it  would  have 
been  unfair  to  leave  out  in  this  chapter  the  early 
chroniclers  of  these  important  events. 

France  was  gradually  waking  up  from  the  kind  of 
moral  slumber  which  had  weighed  over  it  for  upwards 
of  four  centuries  ;  the  whole  nation,  bursting  through 
its  frontiers,  had  rushed  off  to  Jerusalem,  to  Italy,  to 
Germany,  to  England  ;  the  spirit  of  adventure  and  of 
conquest  had  taken  possession  of  every  heart,  and 
yet  the  indolent  king,  Philip  I.,  seemed  to  share 
nothing  of  the  enthusiasm  and  the  energy  so  universal 
around  him.  Steeped  in  luxury  and  sensuality,  he 
heeded  little  the  progress  of  feudalism,  the  gradual 
destruction  of  the  royal  power,  the  sufferings  of  the 
lower  classes,  and  the  condition  of  the  Church.  Was 
that  state  of  reckless  self-indulgence  and  neglect  of  duty 
to  last  1  No  !  Philip,  indeed,  satisfied  himself  with 
spending  in  tardy  exercises  of  penance  the  last  years 
of  his  reign  ;  he  died  in  1 108  in  Melun,  after  a  reign  of 
more  than  forty-seven  years  ;  but  his  son,  Louis  VI. 
was  destined  to  retrieve  by  his  energy  and  his  activity 
the  faults  of  half  a  century,  and  to  strike  the  first  blow 
at  the  power  of  the  aristocracy. 

"  Masson,  "  Mediaeval  Chronicles  of  France." 


III. 


LOUIS   VI.— LOUTS   VIL — THE   COMMUNAL   MOVE- 
MENT.— SCHOLASTICISM. 

(1108-II80.) 

When  Louis  VI.  ascended  the  throne  the  royal 
power  was  very  much  diminished,  if  we  compare  it  to 
what  it  had  been  in  the  time  of  Hugues  Capet.     The 


SEAL   OF    LOUIS    VT. 


countships  of  Paris,  Sens,  Orleans,  and  Mehm  consti- 
tuted the  whole  of  the  royal  domains  ;  but  even  within 
these  comparatively  small   limits  the    movements  of 


48  LOUTS   VI. — LOUIS   VII. 

the  king  were  by  no  means  free.  For  instance,  be= 
tvveen  Paris  and  Etampes  stood  the  fortress  of  the 
lord  of  Montlhery ;  between  Paris  and  Melun  the 
Count  of  Corbeii  exercised  ahnost  absolute  authority, 
and  even  at  one  time  hoped  to  be  at  the  head  of  a 
fourth  dynasty  ;  between  Paris  and  Orleans  the  frown- 
ing walls  of  Puiset  were  a  constant  source  of  anxiety 
to  the  Crown,  and  it  required  a  three  years'  war  to 
reduce  it  to  submission.  In  whatever  direction  the 
eye  might  turn,  it  met  the  domains  of  feudal  lords, 
whose  power  and  influence  equalled,  in  every  respect, 
that  of  the  king,  and  who,  paying  no  attention  to  the 
royal  safe-conducts,  plundered  the  pilgrims,  levied 
illegal  and  exorbitant  fines  upon  travelling  mer- 
chants, and  acted  in  every  respect  as  the  most  un- 
scrupulous highwaymen.  The  king  was  thus,  if  we 
may  so  say,  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  that  terrible 
and  compact  organization  of  feudalism  which,  having 
long  since  cast  aside  the  ideal  from  which  it  originated, 
now  onl}'  represented  the  principle  of  brute  force 
against  that  of  justice,  order,  and  national  unity. 

The  time  had  come  for  a  revolution  to  take  place  ; 
iniquit)-  could  not  prevail  for  ever,  and  in  the  mo\e- 
ment  we  are  about  to  describe,  the  Crown  and  the 
lower  classes  acted  as  allies  to  each  other.  The  prin- 
ciple of  association  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  feudal 
system  ;  it  formed  likewise  the  starting-point  of  the  re- 
volution which  ultimately  destro}'cd  that  system.  If 
we  trace  back  to  its  beginnings  the  history  of  indus- 
try, trade,  and  commerce,  we  find  guilds  and  corpo- 
rations rising  everywhere,  and  imparting  stability  and 
the  elements   of  success   to   professions  which   could 


THE    COMMUNAL   MOVEMENT.  49 

have  produced  notliing'  if  left  to  isolated  action  and 
individual  effort.  In  like  manner  the  old  institution 
of  serfdom  having  graduall)'  disappeared,  and  the 
labourers  and  vilains  having  obtained  the  right  of 
inheriting  the  land,  or  portion  of  the  land,  which  they 
formerly  tilled  for  their  masters,  associations  of  families 
were  formed,  hence  the  organization  of  parishes,  and 
their  grouping  together  for  purposes  of  mutual  pro- 
tection. In  the  South  of  France,  where  traces  of  the 
old  municipal  institutions  of  the  Romans  were  even 
then  to  be  found,  a  still  more  decisive  element  of  anti- 
feudalism  existed,  and  speedily  manifested  itself. 

The  communal  movement  broke  out  almost  simul- 
taneously in  various  parts  of  the  country  ;  Le  I\Ians 
f[o66),  Cambrai  (1076;,  were  followed  by  Noyon, 
Beauvais,  Saint  Ouentin,  Laon,  Amiens  and  Soissons. 
The  following  extracts  from  the  charters  of  a  Beauvais 
avninuue,  will  give  a  sufficient  idea  of  all  the  others  : 

"  All  the  men  residing  within  the  walls  of  the  city 
and  its  suburbs,  to  whatever  lord  they  may  belong,  the 
land  which  they  occupy,  shall  swear  the  coiuimtne. 
Within  the  whole  enclosure  of  the  town,  each  one 
shall  assist  his  neighbours  loyally  and  according  to 
his  ability. 

"  The  peers  of  the  commune  shall  swear  to  favour 
no  one  for  friendship's  sake,  to  injure  no  one  on  the 
ground  of  private  enmity  ;  they  shall  in  every  case 
give,  according  to  their  power,  an  equitable  decision. 
All  others  shall  swear  to  obe)'  the  decisions  of  the 
peers,  and  to  assist  in  seeing  that  they  are  carried  out. 

"Whenever  any  man  has  done  injury  to  a  person 
who  has  sworn   the  commune,  on  a  complaint  of  the 


CATHEDRAL   OF   NOYO.N. 


COMMUNE   OF  BEAUVAIS.  5I 

same  being  made,  the  peers  of  the  connnune  shall 
punish  the  delinquent,  either  in  his  person  or  in  his 
goods,  deliberation  having  been  held  on  the  subject. 

"If  the  culprit  takes  refuge  in  some  castle,  the 
peers  of  the  coim/iiine  shall  refer  to  the  lord  of  the 
castle  or  his  representative,  and  if,  according  to  their 
opinion,  satisfaction  is  done  to  them  against  the 
enemy  of  the  couiuiune,  it  will  be  enough  ;  but  if  the 
lord  refuses  satisfaction,  they  shall  do  justice  to  them- 
selves on  the  lord's  property  or  on  his  retainers. 

"  If  some  foreign  merchant  comes  to  Beauvais  for 
trading  purposes,  and  if  anyone  does  wrong  or  injury 
to  him  within  the  municipal  limits  {banlieiie),  if  a  com- 
plaint is  entered  before  the  peers,  and  if  the  merchant 
can  discover  the  malefactor  in  the  town,  the  peers 
shall  punish  him,  unless  the  merchant  should  be  an 
enemy  of  the  coinniune. 

"No  member  of  the  couiimine  shall  give  or  lend 
his  money  to  the  enemies  of  the  comuiuiie  so  long  as 
war  exists  between  them,  for  if  he  does  so  he  has 
perjured  himself;  and  if  any  man  stands  convicted 
of  having  lent  or  trusted  any  thing  to  them,  he  sliall 
be  punished  according  to  the  decision  of  the  peers. 

"  If  it  happens  that  the  whole  commune  marches  out 
of  the  town  against  its  enemies,  no  one  shall  hold 
parley  with  the  enemies,  except  by  the  leave  of  the 
peers. 

"  If  any  peer  of  the  commune,  having  trusted  his 
money  to  a  resident  of  the  town,  that  resident  takes 
refuge  in  some  castle,  the  lord  of  that  castle,  on  com- 
plaint having  been  made  to  him,  shall  either  return 
the  money  or  drive  the  debtor  out  of  his  castle  ;  but 


52  LOUIS    VI. —LOU IS    VI I. 

should  he  do  neither  of  these  things,  justice  shall  be 
taken  against  the  men  of  that  castle  at  the  discretion 
of  the  peers." 

It  is  needless  to  observe  that  the  coniiiiuiial  move- 
ment was  a  source  of  great  sorrow  and  irritation  to 
the  nobles  both  clerical  and  secular.  "  Commune" 
says  Guibert  of  Nogent  (twelfth  century),  "  is  a  new 
and  detestable  name.  This  is  what  is  meant  by  it — 
Persons  now  only  pay  once  a  year  to  their  lords  what 
they  owe  them.  If  they  commit  some  crimes,  they 
have  merely  to  submit  to  a  fine  legally  fixed." 

It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  not  a  few  amongst  the 
prelates,  understanding  the  real  nature  and  the 
beneficial  character  of  the  communal  movement,  gave 
to  it  the  sanction  of  their  name  and  their  high 
ecclesiastical  position.  Such  was  Baudri  de  Sarchain- 
ville.  Bishop  of  Noyon  (1098J,  and  it  is  interesting 
to  read  the  document  by  which  he  established  (1108) 
the  commune  in  the  chief  town  of  his  diocese. 

"  Baudri,  by  the  grace  of  God  Bishop  of  Noyon^ 
to  all  those  who  do  persevere  and  go  on  in  the  faith. 

"  Most  dear  brethren,  we  learn  by  the  example  and 
words  of  the  holy  Fathers  that  all  good  things  ought 
to  be  committed  to  writing,  for  fear  lest  hereafter  they 
come  to  be  forgotten.  Know  then  all  Christians  present 
and  to  come,  that  I  have  formed  at  Noyon  a  com- 
mune, constituted  by  the  counsel  and  in  an  assembly 
of  clerg)',  knights,  and  burghers  ;  that  I  have  con- 
firmed it  by  oath,  by  pontifical  authority,  and  by 
the  bond  of  anathema,  and  that  I  have  prevailed 
upon  our  lord  King  Louis  to  grant  this  commune  and 
corroborate  it  with  the  king's  seal.      This  establish- 


51  LOUIS    17. — LOUIS    VII. 

ment  formed  by  me,  sworn  to  by  a  great  number  of 
persons,  and  granted  by  the  king,  let  none  be  so 
bold  as  to  destroy  or  alter.  I  give  warning  thereof, 
on  behalf  of  God  and  myself,  and  I  forbid  it  in  the 
name  of  pontifical  authority.  Whoever  shall  trans- 
gress or  violate  the  present  law  be  subjected  to  ex- 
communication ;  and  whosoever,  on  the  contrary, 
shall  faithfully  keep  it,  be  preserved  for  ever  amongst 
those  who  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord." 

The  communal  revolution,  like  most  popular  move- 
ments, was  unfortunately  stained  in  several  places 
with  deeds  of  violence,  and  the  history  of  the  com- 
mune  of  Laon  is  unquestionably  one  of  the  most 
dramatic  episodes  in  the  whole  development  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  Gaudri,  bishop  of  that  town,  had, 
on  condition  of  a  sum  of  money,  allowed  the  in- 
habitants the  permission  of  instituting  an  elective 
magistracy  on  the  pattern  of  that  of  Noyon  (1109). 
Three  years  later,  repenting  of  the  concessions  he 
had  made,  he  persuaded  the  king,  whom  he  had 
invited  to  spend  the  Easter  festivities  at  Laon  (i  1 12), 
to  cancel  the  communal  charter,  promising  him  in 
return  a  sum  of  700  silver  livres.  The  news  of  this 
piece  of  treachery  was  soon  spread  abroad,  and  not- 
withstanding the  protection  given  to  Gaudri  by  a 
powerful  body  of  knights,  the  episcopal  palace  was 
set  on  fire  and  the  unfortunate  bishop  put  to  death. 

It  was  the  evident  interest  of  the  King  of  France 
to  encourage  and  favour  the  communal  movement  ; 
he  thus  secured  for  himself  powerful  allies  against 
the  barons  who  scorned  his  authority,  and  in  his 
endeavours  to  restore  order  throuijhout  his  dominions 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND.  55 

he  was  assisted  in  the  most  efficient  manner  by  the 
parish  militias  and  the  citizens  of  the  various  towns; 
whereas  the  knights  and  men-at-arms  either  forsook 
him  entircl)-  or  gave  him  very  little  assistance  in  his 
efforts  to  restore  peace  and  order  throughout  the 
kingdom,  he  found,  on  the  contrary,  the  greatest 
assistance  in  the  armed  bands  raised  by  the  Church 
and  the  towns.  We  must  add,  to  tell  the  whole 
truth,  that  Louis  VI.  so  eager  to  favour  the  com- 
munal movement  in  the  domains  of  the  barons,  did 
not  tolerate  a  single  one  in  his  own  ;  he  wanted  to 
be  absolute  master  at  home  till  the  time  when  he 
might  become  master  also  over  his  turbulent  vassals. 
The  relations  between  England  and  France  were 
always  those  of  two  deadly  enemies.  With  the  \iew 
of  checking  the  power  of  his  rival,  Louis  VL  took  up 
the  cause  of  William  Cliton,  son  of  Robert,  Duke  of 
Normandy,  who,  defeated  by  his  brother  Henry  at 
the  battle  of  Tinchcbrai  (1106},  had  been  kept  as  a 
prisoner  in  Cardiff  Castle.  This  scheme  would  have 
materially  strengthened  the  position  of  the  King  of 
France  ;  unfortunately,  the  tide  of  war  turned  a;:ainst 
Louis  VI.,  who  experienced  a  defeat  at  Brenneville 
(11 19).  We  must  remember  at  the  same  time  that 
the  English  monarch  was  vassal  of  Louis  as  Duke  of 
Normandy,  and  therefore  he  dare  not  push  on  the 
war  to  its  last  extremities,  A  series  of  events,  how- 
ever, contributed  to  favour  the  progress  of  the  power 
of  England  in  France.  The  terrible  episode  of  the 
Blanche-nef\Q.{\.  Henry  with  one  child  only,  Mathilda; 
he  married  her  to  Geoffrcx'  Plantagenet,  eldest  son  of 
Foulques  V.,  Count  of  Anjou,  and  thus  the  support 


56  LOUIS    VI. — LOUIS    VII. 

which  Louis  had  hitherto  found  in  the  Angevin 
princes  against  Normandy  was  henceforth  lost.  Later 
on  the  marriage  of  Mathilda's  son  with  Eleanora  of 
Guienne  extended  the  power  of  England  as  far  as 
the  Pyrenees. 

The  murder  of  Charles  the  Good,  Count  of  Flan- 
ders, by  the  rebellious  serfs  and  citizens  of  Ghent, 
furnished  Louis  VL  with  another  occasion  of  ex- 
ercising his  rights  as  a  suzerain  lord,  and  of  trying 
to  extend  his  authority.  Accompanied  by  William 
Cliton,  to  whom  he  promised  the  Countship  of  Flan- 
ders, he  invaded  the  land,  and  obtained  at  first  some 
slight  success  ;  but  the  cities  of  Furnes,  Lille,  Ghent, 
and  Alost  rose  against  the  invaders  and  called  to  the 
supreme  power  Thierry  of  Elsass.  Cliton  died  in  1128 
of  a  wound  he  had  received  before  Alost. 

Tlie  firm  resolution  entertained  by  the  King  of 
France  of  re-establishing  order  in  his  dominions  was 
felt  even  south  of  the  Loire,  where  the  Count  of 
Auvergne  and  the  Duke  of  Aquitaine  learnt  at 
their  own  cost  that  deeds  of  violence  would  no 
longer  be  tolerated.  Amongst  the  king's  last  acts 
was  a  signal  and  energetic  measure  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. One  cf  the  most  unprincipled  and  savage 
banditti-lords  of  the  day,  Thomas  de  Marie,  who  had 
played  an  important  part  in  the  rising  at  Laon,  was 
carrying  on  a  system  of  brigandage  on  a  thoroughly 
extensive  scale.  He  had  locked  up  in  the  dungeon 
of  his  castle  a  compan}'  of  innocent  traders,  stripped 
of  their  goods  and  their  money  by  his  men  on  the 
high  roads,  notwithstanding  the  royal  safe-conduct, 
and  he  declined  to  let  them  depart  unless  they  paid 


FRANCE   AND    THE   PAPACY.  57 

him  a  considerable  ransom.  He  had  as  his  motto  the 
proud  couplet : 

"  Je  ne  suis  roy  ne  comie  aussy, 
Je  suis  le  Sire  tie  Coucy," 

and  he  fancied  himself  in  safet}'  behind  the  walls  of 
his  castle  of  Coucy,  one  of  the  strongest  baronial  re- 
sidences north  of  the  Seine.  The  king,  nevertheless, 
marched  against  him  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  and 
Thomas  de  Marie,  who  had  sallied  forth  with  the 
intention  of  laying  an  ambush,  was  wounded,  made  a 
prisoner,  and  taken  to  Laon,  where  he  died. 

Louis  VI.  was  incidentally  led  to  perform  a  part  in 
the  quarrel  between  the  Papacy  and  the  Empire,  for 
three  popes,  Gelasius  II.,  Calixtus  II.,  and  Innocent 
II.,  sought  a  refuge  in  France  against  the  Imperial 
forces.  In  the  year  1130  the  king  summoned  at 
Etampes  a  council  which,  on  the  proposition  of  the 
celebrated  Saint  Bernard,  declared  Innocent  II.  to  be 
the  rightful  successor  of  Saint  Peter.  Twelve  months 
afterwards  another  council  assembled  at  Reims,  was 
attended  by  thirteen  archbishops  and  two  hundred 
and  sixty-three  bishops.  Louis  VI.  appeared  in  per- 
son, and  Innocent  II.  availed  himself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity of  crowning  the  monarch's  son,  Louis,  ten 
years  old.  Louis  VI.  died  of  an  attack  of  dysentery 
on  the  1st  of  August,  11 37.  He  had  been  nicknamed 
/e  gros  (the  fat)  on  account  of  his  corpulency. 

The  clever  and  enlightened  course  of  policy 
adopted  by  Louis  VI.  was  carried  on  by  his  son,  but 
it  led,  in  one  of  its  applications,  to  an  event  which  the 
new  king  had  scarcely  anticipated.  The  Pope  had 
named    to    the    archbishopric    of    Bou'^ges   his   own 


58  LOUIS    VI. — LOUIS    VII. 

nephew,  regardless  of  the  right  of  presentation  which 
belonged  to  the  Crown.  Louis  compelled  the  new 
prelate  to  vacate  the  see,  whereupon  the  Count  of 
Champagne  offered  a  refuge  to  the  disappointed  eccle- 
siastic. The  king  had  already  some  motives  of 
complaint  against  the  count.  He  resolved,  therefore, 
upon  punishing  him,  entered  his  domain,  and  burnt 
down  the  small  town  of  Vitry  ;  thirteen  hundred 
persons  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  church  perished. 
So  w^holesale  a  destruction  weighed  upon  the  king's 
existence  ;  seized  by  remorse,  he  organized  a  Crusade, 
and  found  an  apology  and  justification  of  his  design 
in  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  Holy  Land.  The  Sultan 
of  Aleppo  had  taken  Edessa,  and  driven  the  Chris- 
tians from  one  of  their  most  important  possessions. 
Would  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem  itself  be  safe  ?  and 
was  it  not  to  be  feared  that  the  infidels,  encouraged 
by  their  success,  might  in  a  very  short  time  destroy  a 
work  which  had  cost  so  much  blood  and  so  much 
money .''  Pressing  appeals  were  made  to  all  the 
princes  of  Western  Europe,  and  Saint  Bernard 
became  the  apostle  of  the  second  Crusade  (1144). 
We  cannot  dwell  here  upon  the  life  and  character  of 
that  truly  remarkable  man  ;  sufficient  to  say  that  he 
was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  representatives  of 
the  mediaeval  clergy,  and  that,  by  his  learning  no  less 
than  b}'  his  earnest  piety,  he  fully  deserx'cd  the  title 
of  *'  The  Last  Father  of  the  Church,"  which  some 
historians  have  bestowed  upon  him.  A  monk,  of  the 
Order  of  Citeaux,  famed  for  the  strictness  of  its 
discipline,  he  had  himself  founded  in  1 1 1 5  an  establish- 
ment— an   off-shoot  of  the  original   monastery  at   a 


SECOND    CRUSADE.  59 

place  called  "The  Valley  of  Wormwood,"  so  desig- 
nated either  from  the  fact  that  the  soil  abounded  with 
that  plant,  or  because  the  locality  was  infested  with 
robbers.  Subsequently  to  the  foundation  of  the  new 
monastery  the  valley  assumed  the  more  propitious 
name  of  Clah'va2ix  (Lat.  dara  vallis).  Bernard  was 
abbot  at  the  time  of  the  preaching  of  the  Crusade; 
he  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  movement  with 
his  wonted  energy,  but  a  great  change  had  taken 
place  in  public  feeling,  and  instead  of  the  spontaneous 
elan  which  seized  all  classes  of  society  in  the  days  of 
Peter  the  Hermit,  it  was  necessary  to  levy  a  kind  of 
Crusade  tax  throughout  the  kingdom,  independently 
of  rank  and  condition.  Riots  followed,  and  the  king 
started  for  his  expedition,  says  a  chronicler,  in  the 
midst  of  curses  and  imprecations.  The  second 
Crusade  was  nothing  else  but  a  series  of  failures  ;  the 
want  of  discipline  of  the  soldiers  and  the  stupidity  of 
the  leaders  brought  about  a  first  disaster.  The  only 
anxiety  which  possessed  the  King  of  France  was  to 
reach  Jerusalem  and  to  pray  at  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 
This  he  contrived  to  do,  and  then  the  Crusaders, 
deeming  that  it  would  be  disgraceful  for  them  to  leave 
Palestine  without  accomplishing  at  least  one  feat  of 
arms,  determined  upon  attacking  Damascus.  Here, 
again,  their  own  imprudence  led  to  a  discomfiture. 
Who  should  be  prince  of  Damascus  if  the  toivn  ivas 
taken  ?  The  Count  of  Flanders,  said  some  ;  this 
selection  met  with  a  great  deal  of  opposition,  but,  as 
the  siege  had  to  be  raised,  it  did  not  so  much  signify, 
and  a  very  small  number  of  the  Crusaders  returned  to 
Europe  to  tell  the  tale  of  the  expedition. 


6o 


LOUIS    VI . — LOUIS    VII. 


Saint  Bernard's  reputation  suffered  considerably 
from  this  untoward  episode.  "  He  had  confidently- 
predicted  its  success,  and  was  even  said  to  have 
wrought  miracles  in  attestation  of  his  mission.  The 
complaints  against  him  were  loud,  bitter,  and  uni- 
versal ;  and  he  himself  acknowledged  his  confusion  at 
this  inexplicable  visitation  of  Divine  Providence.  He 
attributed  it  to  the  scandalous  vices  of  the  Crusaders, 
comparing  them  to   the  Jews  of  old,  to  whom   God's 


FIGURE    OF   SUGER    IN    CHURCH    WINDOW. 


prophet  had  solemnly  promised  the  enjoyment  of  the 
Land  of  Canaan,  but  who  were  nevertheless  '  over- 
thrown in  the  wilderness '  on  account  of  their  sins  and 
unbelief"  Saint  Bernard  died  in  1153,  and  was 
canonized  by  Pope  Alexander  HI.  in  1174. 

In  contrast  with  the  first  Abbot  of  Clairvaux 
stands  Suger,  the  great  statesman,  "  the  Father  of  his 
country,"  as  his  grateful  contemporaries  loved  to  call 
him.     Born  of  poor  parents  in  the  neighbourhood  of 


SUGER.  6l 

Saint  Omer,  Suger  was  indebted  for  his  early  training 
to  the  monks  of  the  abbey  of  Saint  Denis,  who  re- 
ceived him  in  their  midst,  and  soon  discovered  his 
abihty  and  his  high  moral  qualities.  Louis  VI.,  his 
fellow-student  at  Saint  Denis,  conceived  for  him  a 
friendship  which  Louis  VIL  continued,  and  having 
been  elected  abbot  during  his  absence  at  Rome,  he 
rose  to  be  invested  with  the  highest  powers  in  the 
state.  Named  regent  whilst  the  king  was  engaged  in 
the  Crusade,  he  governed  prudently  and  discreetly, 
maintained  order,  and  displayed  the  greatest  talent  as 
a  financier.  He  had  always  been  opposed  to  the 
Crusade,  and  urged  upon  the  king  the  duty  of  "  not 
abandoning  his  flock  to  the  rapacity  of  the  wolves." 

On  his  return  to  France,  Louis  VIL  repudiated  his 
wife  Eleanor  for  alleged  misconduct.  This  step,  jus- 
tified, no  doubt,  from  the  point  of  view  of  morality, 
was  a  political  mistake,  because  the  ex-queen,  heiress, 
as  we  have  seen,  of  the  duchy  of  Guienne,  transferred 
her  vast  domain  to  Henry  Plantagenet,  Count  of 
Anjou,  Duke  of  Normandy,  and  heir-presumptive  to 
the  crown  of  England  (1152).  The  power  of  this 
country,  thus  immensely  increased,  was  still  more  so 
when,  two  years  later,  Henry  obtained  for  his  sons 
the  hand  of  the  Count  of  Brittany's  only  daughter. 
Thus  irritated  by  the  rapid  and  constantly-increasing 
power  of  his  rival,  Louis  VIL  avenged  himself  by  en- 
couraging the  rebellious  conduct  of  Henry's  four  sons. 
The  murder  of  Thomas  a  Becket  (1170)  is  another 
incident  which  helped  him  in  his  designs  against 
England.  Having  insisted  with  the  Pope  that  the 
blood  of  the  archbishop  should    be   avenged,  he  ob- 


62  LOUIS   VI. — LOUIS   VII. 

tained  satisfaction.  With  the  view  of  escaping  from 
a  sentence  of  excommunication,  Henry  submitted  to 
all  the  humiliations  which  were  imposed  upon  him, 
and  spent  the  last  years  of  his  reign  in  wars  against 
his  own  sons,  his  subjects,  and  the  King  of  France. 

The  tragic  death  of  Thomas  a  Becket  belongs  im- 
mediately and  directly  to  the  history  of  England  ; 
but  it  affected,  more  or  less,  the  whole  of  Christen- 
dom, and  therefore  we  are  not  astonished  at  finding  it 
described  by  a  French  writer  : 

"  Since  now  and  at  so  late  a  time  (in  the  history  of 
the  world)  a  new  martyr  is  given  to  you,  Gamier  the 
Clerk,  a  native  of  Pont  Saint  Maxence,  thinks  it  right 
to  tell  you  the  date  of  this  event  :  it  took  place  full 
eleven  hundred  and  seventy  years  after  the  incarna- 
tion." The  chronicle  we  are  now  alluding  to,  written 
in  Alexandrine  verses,  is  founded  upon  the  well-known 
"Historia  Quadripartita,"  compiled  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Pope  Gregory  XI.  from  materials  supplied  by 
John  of  Salisbury,  Herbert  of  Bosham,  William  of 
Canterbury,  and  Alan,  Abbot  of  Tewkesbury.  The 
poem  is  remarkably  accurate  in  point  of  historical 
detail  ;  Gamier  has  spared  neither  time  nor  trouble  in 
collecting  information  from  the  most  trustworthy 
quarters  : 

"  I  have  spent  at  least  four  years  in  making  and 
perfecting  it  (the  poem),  retrenching,  adding,  without 
taking  any  account  of  my  trouble."  P^urther  on,  he 
tells  us  "he  went  to  Canterbury  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  the  truth  from  the  friends  of  Saint  Thomas,  and 
those  who  had  served  him  ever  since  he  was  a  child." 

Impartiality  is  his  chief  object  :  "  Truth  and  inte- 


GUILD   OF  PARIS   MERCHANTS.  63 

grityyou  may  expect  here,  for  I  would  not  depart  from 
the  truth  for  any  damages  or  death  I  might  endure." 

The  views  of  Garnicr  respecting  the  murder  of 
Thomas  a  Becket  are  tliose  which  might  .be  antici- 
pated from  a  Churchman  and  a  Frenchman  ;  his 
opinion  is  that  of  the  clergy  during  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury. "The  prelates,"  he  remarks,  "are  the  ser- 
vants of  God  ;  and  princes,  therefore,  ought  to  cherish 
them  ;  they  are  above  kings,  who  should  bend  under 
them." 

The  communal  movement  continued  during  the 
reign  of  Louis  VII.  His  father  had  granted  or  con- 
firmed eight  charters  ;  his  own  name  appears  on 
twenty-five  such  documents  ;  the  population  of  the 
towns  increased,  barren  tracts  of  land  were  cultivated, 
forests  disappeared,  and  substantial  encouragement 
was  given  to  trade  and  industry.  Louis  VII.  con- 
firmed the  privileges  of  the  Hanse  or  guild  of  Paris 
merchants,  which  under  the  collective  name  of 
marcliands  de  Vcau  de  Paris,  had  succeeded  to  the 
corporation  of  the  nautcB  Parisicnses.  This  company 
or  association,  the  most  powerful  of  all  those  then 
existing,  enjoyed  the  monopoly  of  carrying  goods 
from  the  bridge  of  Le  Pecq,  near  Saint  Germain  on 
Laye,  to  the  higher  part  of  the  river.  They  levied 
a  toll  on  all  provisions  brought  into  Paris  ;  their 
armorial  device  was  a  ship,  which  subsequently 
became  that  of  the  metropolis,  with  the  motto  Fluctnat 
nee  mergitur.  The  foundation  stone  of  the  Cathedral 
of  Notre  Dame  was  laid  in  1168  by  Pope  Alexander 
III.  We  have  already  said  that  Louis  VII.  caused  his 
son  and   heir  to  be  consecrated  during  his  own  life- 


64  LOUIS    VL — LOUIS   VII. 

time  ;  he  further  directed  that  the  ceremony  should 
ahvays  take  place  at  Paris. 

We  cannot  close  our  account  of  the  reign  of  Louis 
VII.  without  giving  a  sketch,  if  ever  so  slight,  of  the 
intellectual  movement  which  was  going  on  in  France, 
during  the  administration  of  the  first  Capetian  monarchs. 

Under  the  name  of  ScJiola  Palatii  Charlemagne 
had  established  in  connection  with  every  cathedral 
church  (circular  of  789),  schools  for  the  elementary 
teaching  of  children,  and,  besides,  seminaries  where 
the  higher  branches  of  the  sciences  were  studied,  under 
the  supervision  of  competent  teachers.  Tours,  Metz, 
Fontcnelle  in  Normandy,  Ferrieres  near  Montargis, 
and  Aniane  in  Languedoc,  thus  became  centres  of 
intellectual  progress:  the  curriculum  of  leaining  was 
called  the  trivium  and  the  quadrivium,  and  embraced 
the  seven  liberal  sciences,  as  enumerated  in  the  follow- 
ing distich  : 

'■'■  Gra}iim[atica)  loquitur;   Dia{lectica)  vera  docet ;    Rhet(orica')   verba 

colorat  ; 
Mus{icii)     canit ;      Ar{ilhmetica)     numeral ;      Geo[mcin'a)     ponderat ; 

As[tronomia)  colit  astra." 

There  was  of  course  a  school  attached  to  the 
metropolitan  church  of  Paris,  and  thus  it  happened 
that  the  foundation  of  the  University  of  Paris  came 
to  be  ascribed  to  Charlemagne,  although  the  real 
founder  of  it,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  \\as  PhiHp  Augustus. 
A  vestige  of  the  old  tradition  is  still  preserved  in  the 
circumstance  that  the  annual  festival  of  the  University 
of  France  takes  place  on  the  day  of  Saint  Charlemagne. 
The  University  of  Paris  was  really  an  association  of 
guilds  of  schools,  on  the  pattern  o^  the  other  corpora- 


UNIVERSITY  OF  PARIS.  65 

tions,  and  its  headquarters  were  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  Seine,  at  and  near  the  Montagne  Sainte  Genevieve, 
still  regarded  as  the  centre  of  what  is  called  /c  qnartier 
Latin.  The  importance  of  the  various  schools  belong- 
ing to  the  University  of  Paris  may  be  gathered  from 
merely  naming  a  few  of  the  distinguished  men  who 
there  taught  and  were  there  educated.  Thus  UIger, 
Bishop  of  Angers,  Alberic  de  Reims,  Archbishop  of 
Bourges,  Gauthier  de  Mortagne,  Bishop  of  Laon, 
Michel  de  Corbeil,  Dean  of  Saint  Denis,  who,  after 
having  refused  the  Patriarchate  of  Jerusalem,  was 
consecrated  Archbishop  of  Sens.  Some  of  the  most 
distinguished  members  of  the  University  of  Paris 
were  foreigners,  and  to  mention  only  a  {Q.\f^  English- 
men out  of  a  list  which  might  easily  be  extended, 
we  shall  quote  almost  at  random,  Adam  de  Parvo 
Polite,  Bishop  of  Saint  Asaph,  Robert  de  Bethune, 
Hishop  of  Hereford,  Cardinal  Robert  Pulleyn,  and 
hnally  Nicolas  Breakspeare,  who  was  elected  to  the 
Papacy  under  the  name  of  Adrian  IV. 

Of  all  the  schools  comprising  the  University  of 
Paris  during  the  Middle  Ages,  that  of  Saint  Victor 
has  remained  the  most  illustrious  ;  it  was  founded  by 
Guillaume  de  Champeaux,  in  1108.  "Whilst  it 
endeavoured,"  says  Canon  Robertson,  "to  reconcile 
the  scholastic  method  of  inquiry  with  practical  piety, 
it  was  especially  opposed  to  the  dialectical  subtleties 
which  were  now  in  fashion,  and  was  itself  inclined  to 
mysticism.  The  most  famous  teachers  of  this  school 
were  Hugues — a  Saxon,  according  to  some  writers, 
while  others  suppose  him  a  native  of  Ypres — who 
Jicd   in    1 141  ;    Richard,  a   Scotchman,  who  died   in 


66  LOUIS  VI. 

1170;  and  Gauthier,  who,  in  11 74,  wrote  against  'the 
four  Labyrinths  of  Gaul,'  under  which  names  he 
denounced  Abelard,  Gilbert  de  la  Porree,  Peter 
Lombard,  and  his  disciple,  Peter  de  Poitiers."  ^ 

Hincmar,  Alcuin,  Eginhard,  and  Scot  Erigena,  to 
name  only  these,  had  given  to  the  Carlovingian 
dynasty  a  kind  of  intellectual  character,  and  the 
great  theological  disputes  of  the  mediaeval  epoch  were 
anticipated  by  the  sharp  controversy,  in  which  were 
engaged,  on  the  one  side,  the  Monk  Gotteschalck,  and, 
on  the  other,  Rabanus  Maurus,  Bishop  of  Mentz. 
Theology  and  philosophy  at  that  time  were  identical 
expressions,  and  arguments  on  points  of  doctrine 
often  meant  nothing  less  than  efforts  to  assert  the 
right  of  intellectual  freedom  against  the  claims  of 
authority.  Condemned  by  two  councils  for  having 
stated  that  the  doctrine  of  predestination  is  to  be 
found  in  the  writings  of  Saint  Augustine,  Gottes- 
chalck had  refused  to  retract,  and  had  been  shut  up 
for  life  by  H  incmar  in  a  cloister ;  Scot  Erigena,  Berenger, 
and  Roscelin  suffered  persecution  in  various  forms  for 
the  boldness  of  their  ideas,  and  when  the  dispute 
between  the  Realists  and  the  Nouiinalists  broke  out, 
the  tide  of  theological  bitterness  was  at  its  height. 

When  we  talk  of  universal  ideas,  we  may  suppose 
either  that  they  are  mere  ideas,  or  real  existences, 
just  as  real  as,  for  instance,  an  individual  horse, 
tree,  or  man.  The  lat*-er  view  had  been  the  one 
acknowledged  as  orthodox,  and  it  had  on  its  side 
the  authority  of  Plato  and  of  Saint  Augustine  ; 
the  former  was    sanctioned    by  Aristotle.     Roscelin, 

'  "  History  of  the  Christian  Church." 


ABELARD.  67 

Canon  of  Compiegne,  stood  up  on  the  side  of 
Nominalism,  and  having  boldly  applied  his  tenets 
to  an  explanation  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
he  was  accused  of  Tritheism,  and  compelled  to 
retract.  He  had  to  leave  France,  and  fled  to  England, 
where  he  further  excited  great  dissatisfaction  by 
maintaining  that  the  sons  of  clergymen  could  not 
legally  receive  ordination.  He  then  returned  to  France, 
found  a  kind  and  sympathetic  friend  in  Yves  de 
Chartres,  was  through  his  mediation  reconciled  to  the 
Church,  and  appointed  a  canon  of  the  church  of  Saint 
Martin  at  Tours. 

The  philosopher,  however,  whose  name  has  become 
the  most  illustrious  in  the  history  of  the  times,  was 
Abelard,  a  pupil  of  Roscelin,  and  subsequently  of 
Guillaume  de  Champcaux.  The  romantic  story  of 
his  love  with  Heloi'se,  has  chiefly  made  his  name 
known  to  the  public,  but  he  was  equally  distinguished 
as  a  theologian  and  a  teacher.  Born  in  1079,  ^^  ^ 
village  near  Nantes,  he  became  extremely  popular  as 
soon  as  he  began  lecturing,  and  his  excessive  vanity 
led  him  into  difficulties  from  which  he  never  extricated 
himself.  Saint  Bernard,  always  on  the  watch  against 
heretical  doctrines,  had  not  much  trouble  in  discover- 
ing the  dangerous  propositions  maintained  by 
Abelard  in  his  "  Introduction  to  Theology,"  and  he 
brought  forth  against  him  the  charge  of  sharing  the 
errors  of  Nestorius,  Pe'agius,  and  Arius.  The 
councils  of  Soissons  (1121),  Sens  (i  140),  condemned 
him,  and  the  doctors  assembled  on  the  former  of 
these  occasions  obliged  him  to  burn  with  his  own 
hands  the  dangerous  treatise.    Prohibited  from  teach- 


68  LOUIS   VI. 

ing,  and  ordered  to  be  confined  for  life,  Abelard 
repaired  to  the  Abbey  of  Cluny,  where  he  was  most 
kindly  received  by  Peter  the  Venerable.  He  there 
spent  two  years  in  study  and  devotional  exercises, 
and  having  been  removed  to  the  priory  of  Saint 
Marcel,  near  Chalon-sur  Saone,  he  died  there  in  the 
sixty-third  year  of  his  age,  April  21,  1142, 

We  must  not  suppose  that  the  endless  discussion 
carried  on  by  the  schoolmen  of  the  Middle  Ages 
derive  their  importance  from  the  fact  that  they  cleared 
a  few  theological  difficulties,  about  which  no  one 
really  cared.  The  great,  the  ever-momentous 
question  at  issue  then  was  liberty  of  thought,  and  the 
right  of  examining  and  dissenting  from,  the  tenets 
propounded  by  the  Church  of  Rome.  In  this  long 
quarrel,  the  Realists  represented  the  principle  of 
freedom,  and  the  Nominalists  that  of  submission. 


'■^^2 


IV. 


PHILIP    AUGUSTUS— THE     CRUSADES— THE     ALBI- 

GENSES — LOUIS   VIII. 

(1180-I226.) 

Louis  VI I,  whose  reign  we  have  just  been  de- 
scribing, was  the  eldest  of  six  sons  :  three  had  taken 
orders  ;  Robert  was  the  head  of  the  house  of  Dreux^ 
and  Pierre  founded  that  of  Courtenay,  which  still 
exists  in  England  Philip  II.,  surnamed  Augustus 
because  he  was  born  in  the  month  of  August  (1165), 
ascended  the  throne  at  the  early  age  of  fifteen.  His 
reign  marks  an  important  epoch  in  the  history  of 
France  ;  it  coincides  with  the  beginning  of  a  revolution 
which  destroyed  the  feudal  system  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  king  all  the  powers  of  the  country.  The 
vigilance  and  energy  of  the  new  king  baffled  the 
activity  of  the  barons  who  still  attempted  to  rule 
independently  of  their  liege  lord.  As  a  result  of  the 
wars  he  had  to  undertake,  we  must  name  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  countships  of  Amiens,  Valois,  and  Ver- 
mandois  (1183J  ;  in  1191  he  obtained  by  right  of 
inheritance  the  important  province  of  Artois,  and 
thus  the  immediate  domains  of  the  Crown  were 
extended  as  far  as  Flanders.  He  reduced  to  obedience 


70  PHILIP  AUGUSTUS — THE   CRUSADES. 

the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  the  Lord  of  Beaujeu,  and  the 
Count  of  Chalons  ;  he  persecuted  the  Jews  (1182)  ; 
with  the  help  of  the  communal  militia  he  stamped  out 
an  insurrection  attempted  by  the  Cottereaux — a  band  of 
robbers  who  infested  the  central  provinces  of  France. 
The  rivalry  between    France  and    England    found 
fresh  fuel  in  the  events  which  marked  the  third  Cru- 
sade   (1190-1191).       Jerusalem    had    fallen    into    the 
power  of  the  infidels  (1187).     Since  the  accession  of 
Godefroi  de  Bouillon, eight  European  kings,  all  French, 
had  reigned  in  the  Holy  City,  and  the  last,  Guy  de 
Lusignan,  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Tiberias,  had  now 
become  the  prisoner  of  Saladin.    A  vigorous  effort  was 
made  throughout  Christendom  to  improve  a  situation 
which  had  grown  very  serious  ;  the  emperor,  Frederick 
Barbarossa,    took    the    initiative ;    Richard  Coeur   de 
Lion  followed,  accompanied  by  Philip  Augustus.  The 
expedition  arrived  at  Saint  Jean  d'Acre,  which  was 
retaken  by  the  Crusaders.     The  "  lion-hearted  "  soon 
made  his  personality  felt  in  the  most  decided  manner, 
and  earned  by  his  reckless  courage,  his  determination, 
and   his   perseverance,  a  reputation   which   extended 
even  to  the  Mohammedan  population  of  the  country. 
If  we  may  believe   an  Eastern    historian,  his    fellow 
countrymen  used  to  rebuke  their  slartlcd  horses  by 
uttering  his   dreadful   name.     "  Do   you   think,"  said 
they,  "  that   King  Richard   is  on  the  track,  that  you 
stray  so  wildly  from  it  V     He  directed  from  the  first 
the  chief  operations  of  the  siege,  and  acquired  over  his 
fellow  Crusaders,  over  Philip  especially,  an  ascendency 
which  could  not   be  but  very  galling  to  a  man   so 
impatient  of  control  as  the  King  of  France. 


RICHARD    CCEUR   DE   LION.  yi 

"We  laud  and  honour  the  courage  and  high  achieve- 
ments of  the  King  of  England,  but  we  feel  aggrieved 
that  he  should,  on  all  occasions,  seize  and  maintain  a 
precedence  and  superiority  over  us,  which  it  becomes 
not  independent  princes  to  submit  to.  Much  we  might 
yield  of  our  free-will  to  his  bravery,  his  wealth,  his 
zeal,  and  his  power  ;  but  he  who  snatches  all  as  a 
matter  of  right,  and  leaves  nothing  to  grant  as  a 
matter  of  courtesy  and  favour,  degrades  us  from  allies 
into  retainers  and  vassals,  and  sullies,  in  the  eyes  of 
our  soldiers  and  subjects,  the  lustre  of  our  authority, 
which  is  no  longer  independently  exercised." 

This  speech  of  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Templars, 
in  Sir  Walter  Scott's  "  Talisman,"  exactly  represents 
the  feelings  of  Philip  Augustus  in  his  relations  towards 
the  King  of  England.  Acre  having  once  surrendered, 
he  resolved  upon  leaving  the  Holy  Land  immediately, 
for  the  express  purpose  of  destroying  the  power  of 
Richard.  Before  starting,  he  renewed,  indeed,  the 
engagements  which  bound  him  to  respect  the  terri- 
tories, the  interests,  and  the  rights  of  the  English 
monarch  ;  but  he  tried  during  his  stay  at  Rome  to  ob- 
tain from  Pope  Celestine  III.  a  deed  releasing  him 
from  this  engagement.  This  being  useless,  he  deter- 
mined upon  releasing  himself  by  force,  and  sought  the 
alliance  of  Prince  John,  who  had  long  been  plotting 
to  supplant  his  brother,  and  who  consented  to  do 
homage  to  the  King  of  France,  not  only  for  Normandy 
and  the  other  English  possessions  on  the  Continent, 
but  for  England  itself.  In  the  meanwhile  Richard 
contrived  to  escape  from  a  captivity  in  which  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  had  unjustly  kept  him  (1194); 


^1  PHILIP  AUGUSTUS — THE    CRUSADES. 

he  arrived  in  Normandy  at  the  head  of  a  powerful 
army,  and  defeated  the  French  at  Frettival.  As  for 
John,  whose  baseness  was  only  equalled  by  his  cruelty, 
he  sought  to  propitiate  his  brother  by  putting  to  the 
sword  three  hundred  French  soldiers  whom  he  had 
invited  to  a  banquet  at  Evreux.  Pope  Innocent,  then 
interfering,  obliged  the  rival  monarchs  to  sign  a  five 
years'  truce  (January,  1199;.  Two  months  afterwards 
Richard  was  killed  before  the  castle  of  Chalus,  in 
Limousin. 

John  Lackland,  now  having  become  king,  had  as  an 
enemy  the  prince  whose  alliance  he  had  so  recently 
sought,  and  who  was  only  anxious  for  a  pretext  to 
renew  hostilities.  The  murder  of  }-oung  Artluir,  w  hich 
occurred  then  (1204),  seemed  to  justify  the  ambitious 
projects  of  Philip  Augustus.  He  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  vindicate  the  rights  of  John's  nephew  to  the 
throne  of  England,  on  consideration  of  homage  for  the 
possessions  of  the  English  Crown  in  France  ;  he  now 
summoned  the  murderer  to  appear  in  person  before 
the  court  of  the  twelve  peers  (chief  vassals  of  the 
Crown),  and,  having  received  a  refusal,  he  marched 
into  Normandy,  took  possession  of  the  chief  towns  in 
the  duchy,  including  Rouen,  and,  following  his  career 
of  success,  re-annexed  Poitou,  Anjou,  and  Touraine 
to  the  royal  domains.  Vainly  did  Pope  Innocent  III. 
endeavour  to  bind  down  the  two  monarchs  by  a  peace. 

Not  even  so  cowardly  a  man  as  John  could  submit 
to  such  humiliations,  and  he  formed  a  league  with  the 
Emperor  of  German}-,  Otho  IV.,  the  Counts  of  P^lan- 
ders  and  Boulogne,  and  all  the  princes  of  the  Nether- 
lands.    They  were  to  invade  France  b)-  the  northern 


BATTLE   OF  BO U VINES.  73 

frontier,  whilst  he,  with  an  English  army,  attacked  it 
by  the  south-west.  Louis/the  eldest  son  of  the  king, 
marched  into  Poitou  against  John,  whilst  Philip,  with 
a  large  body  of  knights  and  the  communal  militia, 
took  the  road  to  the  north.  He  met  the  enemy  at 
the  bridge  of  Bouvines,  between  Lille  and  Tournai 
(July  27,  1 2 14).  The  Flemings  felt  so  confident  of 
victory  that  they  had  already  divided  the  country  be- 
tween themselves.  Philip  Augustus  ordered  a  mass 
to  be  celebrated  ;  he  then  commanded  bread  and 
wine  to  be  brought,  and  having  had  some  slices 
{soupes,  sups,  sops)  cut,  he  ate  one,  and  addressing  the 
men  who  were  near  him,  he  said,  "  I  request  all  my 
good  friends  to  eat  together  with  me  in  remembrance 
of  the  twelve  apostles  who  ate  and  drank  together 
with  our  Lord  ;  and  if  there  shall  be  any  one  of  }ou 
who  entertains  thoughts  of  evil  or  of  treachery,  let 
him  not  draw  near."  Then  came  forward  my  Lord 
Enguerrand  de  Coucy  and  took  the  first  sop  ;  Count 
Gauthier  de  Saint  Pol  took  the  second,  and  said  to  the 
king,  "  Sire,  it  will  be  seen  to-day  whether  I  am  a 
traitor ! "  This  he  said  because  the  king  suspected 
him  on  account  of  certain  bad  reports.  The  Count 
of  Sancerre  took  the  third  sop,  and  then  the  other 
barons,  and  the  crowd  was  so  great  that  all  could  not 
reach  the  table  {buffet)  on  which  the  sops  were  placed. 
This  seeing,  the  king  was  very  joyous,  and  he  ex- 
claimed to  the  barons  :  "  My  lords,  you  are  all  my 
men,  and  I  am  your  king,  whatever  I  may  be,  and  I 
have  loved  you  all  very  much.  .  .  .  Therefore,  I  be- 
seech you,  maintain  on  this  day  my  honour  and  yours, 
and  if  you  see  that  the  crown  is  better  on  the  head  of 


74  PHILIP   AUGUSTUS— THE    CRUSADES. 

one  of  you  than  on  mine,  I  shall  willingly  part  with 
it."  When  the  barons  heard  him  thus  speak,  they 
began  to  shed  tears,  saying  :  "  Sire,  thanks,  for  God's 
sake  !  We  will  have  no  other  king  but  you  !  Now  ride 
boldly  against  your  enemies,  and  we  are  prepared  to 
die  with  you  !  " 

The  two  armies  remained  for  some  time  at  a  short 
distance  from  each  other  without  daring  to  begin  the 
action,  and  the  French  were  retiring  by  the  bridge  of 
Bou vines  to  march  in  the  direction  of  Hainault,  when 
the  enemy,  by  attacking  the  rear,  obliged  them  to  turn 
round. 

"  Philip,"  says  his  chaplain,  Guillaume  le  Breton, 
who  was  present  during  the  action,  "  was  resting  then 
under  a  tree,  near  a  chapel,  with  his  armour  unfastened. 
At  the  first  noise  of  the  fight,  he  entered  the  chapel  to 
make  a  short  prayer,  armed  himself  quickly,  and 
jumped  upon  his  charger  with  as  much  joy  as  if  he 
was  going  to  a  wedding  or  a  festival.  Then  shouting 
out,  '  To  arms  !  warriors,  to  arms  !'  he  rushed  forwards? 
without  waiting  for  his  banner.  A  valiant  man,  Gallon 
de  Montigni,  carried  on  that  day  the  oriflamme  of 
Saint  Denis,  a  standard  of  bright  red  silk.  The  bis- 
hop-elect of  Senlis,  Guerin,  arranged  the  batailles  in 
such  a  manner  that  the  French  had  the  sun  at  their 
back,  whilst  the  enemy  had  it  in  their  eyes.  Three 
hundred  burghers  of  Soissons,  vassals  of  the  Abbot 
of  Saint  Medard,and  who  fought  on  horseback,  began 
the  action  at  the  right  wing  by  charging  audaciously 
the  knights  of  Flanders.  These  hesitated  for  some 
time  to  tr}'  their  courage  against  commoners.  How- 
ever, the  cry  of  '  Death  to  the  French  ! '  raised  by  one 


BATTLE   OF  BOU VINES.  75 

of  them,  animated  them,  and  the  Bourguignons,  led 
by  their  duke,  having  reinforced  the  people  of  Soissons, 
the  mcWe  became  furious.  Count  Ferrand  was  fighting 
on  that  side  of  the  army." 

"  When  the  action  began  the  communal  militias  were 
already  be\'ond  Bouvines  ;  they  recrossed  the  bridge 
in  all  haste,  ran  in  the  direction  of  the  royal  standard, 
and  came  to  place  themselves  in  the  centre,  in  front 
of  the  king  and  of  his /;^?^?///V.  The  German  knights, 
in  the  midst  of  whom  was  the  Kmperor  Otho,  charged 
these  brave  men,  and  riding  through  them  endeavoured 
to  reach  the  King  of  France  ;  but  the  most  renowned 
amongst  Philip's  men-at-arms  threw  themselves  in 
front  of  them  and  stopped  them.  During  this  me/ee 
the  German  infantry  passed  behind  the  cavalry,  and 
arrived  at  the  place  where  stood  Philip.  They  dragged 
him  from  his  horse,  and,  when  he  was  on  the  ground, 
they  endeavoured  to  kill  him.  Montigni  waved  the 
oriflamme  as  if  to  ask  for  assistance.  A  few  knights 
and  the  men  of  the  coniuuiues  ran  up,  delivered  the 
king,  and  replaced  him  upon  his  horse  ;  he  imme- 
diately rushed  back  into  the  thick  of  the  fight.  It 
was  the  emperor's  turn  to  feel  in  danger  of  being 
taken.  Guillaume  des  Barres,  the  bravest  and  the 
strongest  man  in  the  whole  army,  the  happy  adversary 
of  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  whom  he  had  twice  over- 
come, already  held  Otho,  and  was  striking  him  vio- 
lently, when  a  crowd  of  Germans  rushed  upon  him. 
They  killed  his  horse,  but  though  dismounted,  he  ex- 
tricated himself,  and  with  sword  and  dagger  cleared 
the  ground  around  him.  Otho  thus  managed  to 
escape." 


^6  PHlLIi'   AUGUSTUS — THE    CRUSADES. 

"  On  the  right  wing  Ferrancl,  Count  of  Flanders,  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  French  ;  at  the  centre,  the 
emperor  and  the  Germans  were  in  full  flight  ;  but,  on 
the  left,  Rcnaud  de  Bourgogne  and  the  English  held 
their  ground.  They  had  driven  before  them  the 
militias  of  Dreux,  Perche,  Ponthicu,  and  Vimeu.  '  At 
this  sight,'  writes  a  chronicler,  'Philippe  de  Dreux, 
Bishop  of  Beauvais,  w^as  distressed,  and  as  Jie  Jiappcncd 
to  hold  a  chib  in  his  hand,  forgetting  his  episcopal 
dignity,  he  struck  the  leader  of  the  English,  knocked 
him  down  and  many  others  with  him,  breaking  limbs 
but  shedding  no  blood.  He  recommended  those  who 
surrounded  him  to  declare  that  this  great  slaughter 
was  their  work,  for  he  feared  lest  he  should  be  accused 
of  having  violated  the  canons  and  committed  a  deed 
unlawful  for  a  bishop.  The  English  were  soon  in 
full  rout  except  Renaud,  who  had  arranged  a  company 
of  sergeants  on  foot  in  the  shape  of  a  double  circle 
bristling  with  long  spears.  From  the  centre  of  this 
circle  he  rushed  forth  as  from  a  fortress,  taking  refuge 
within  it  at  times  to  take  rest.  At  last,  his  horse 
being  wounded,  he  fell  and  was  made  prisoner.  Five 
other  counts  and  twenty-five  knights-bannerets  had 
already  been  captured." 

The  above  description  of  the  battle  of  Bouvines, 
translated  from  M.  Duruy's  "  History  of  PVance,"  is 
given  here  in  detail  on  account  of  the  extreme  im- 
portance belonging  to  the  event.  The  immediate 
results,  indeed,  if  we  consider  territorial  aggrandise- 
ment, were  null  for  the  French  king,  but  he  had  re- 
pelled a  fcjrmidable  invasion,  defeated  an  emperor  and 
a  king,  and  proved  to  some  of  his  ambitious  vassals 


FOULQUES   OF  NEUILLY.  yy 

that  any  sinister  intention  they  might  have  against  the 
crown  would  be  both  promptly  and  signally  defeated. 
To  quote  M.  Guizot,  "  The  battle  of  Bouvines  was  not 
the  victory  of  Philip  Augustus  alone  over  a  coalition 
of  foreign  princes  ;  the  victory  was  the  work  of  king 
and  people,  barons,  knights,  burghers,  and  peasants  of 
Ile-de-France,  of  Orleanais,  of  Picardy,  of  Normandy, 
of  Champagne,  and  of  Burgundy.  And  this  union  of 
different  classes  and  of  different  populations  in  a 
sentiment,  a  contest,  and  a  triumph  shared  in  common, 
was  a  decisive  step  in  the  organization  and  unity  of 
France.  The  victory  of  Bouvines  marked  the  com- 
mencement of  the  time  at  which  men  might  speak,  and 
indeed  did  speak,  by  one  single  name  of  t/ic  French. 
The  nation  in  France  and  the  kingship  in  France  on 
that  day  rose  out  and  above  the  feudal  system."  We 
do  not  wonder,  therefore,  to  find  that  the  return  of 
Philip  Augustus  to  Paris  had  all  the  features  of  a 
triumphal  march  ;  rejoicings  were  universal,  and  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  people  displayed  itself  in  every 
possible  manner.  Crowds  collected  to  see  the  Count 
of  Flanders,  so  powerful  lately,  but  now  wounded  and 
disabled,  borne  about  in  a  litter  where  he  was  manacled 
and  loaded  with  fetters.  "There  you  are,  Ferrand," 
they  exclaimed,  "  bound  and  fettered  ;  you  can  no 
longer  kick  and  lift  your  stick  against  your  master ! " 
He  remained  for  the  space  of  thirteen  years  a  prisoner 
at  the  Louvre  (1227),  a  commemorative  church  called 
Vabbaye  de  la  victoire,  was  built  near  Senlis  to  cele- 
brate the  event. 

Foulques,  priest  of  Neuilly-sur-Marne,  undertook  at 
that  time  the  missions  which  had  previous!}-  been  per- 


78  PHILIP  AUGUSTUS — THE   CRUSADES. 

formed  with  such  success  by  Peter  the  Hermit  and 
with  comparative  failure  by  Saint  Bernard.  At  the 
suggestion  of  Pope  Innocent  III.  he  preached  a 
Crusade.  Jerusalem  was  beginning  to  excite  very  little 
interest,  and  the  princes  of  Western  Europe  were  too 
much  engrossed  by  their  feuds  at  home  to  think  of 
the  Holy  Land,  the  Saracens,  and  the  empire  founded 
by  Godefroi  de  Bouillon.  It  is  quite  true  that  the  elo- 
quence of  the  Abbot  of  Clairvaux  had  kindled  the 
utmost  enthusiasm  at  first  in  the  breast  of  his  hearers, 


SEAL  OF   ST.   BERNARD. 

and  the  shouts  of  "  Diex  el  volt !  Diex  el  volt  ! "  had 
re-echoed  in  answer  to  his  appeals  ;  but,  as  we  have 
seen  above,  the  excitement  proved  very  short-lived, 
and  artificial  means  were  absolutely  necessary  to 
render  the  Crusade  possible.  It  was  very  much  the 
same  in  the  present  case.  However,  the  expedition 
having  been  resolved  upon,  the  question  of  itinerary 
remained  to  be  settled.  The  general  opinion  decided 
against  an  over-land  journey,  and  a  deputation  was 
sent  to  hire  ships  from  the  Venetians.  The  sum  asked 


#!'*«  .:?^^^:  3i^« ;  v!^  '*r'"  te 


80  PHILIP  AUGUSTUS— THE   CRUSADES. 

by  the  Republic  was  85,000  silver  merks,  besides  half 
the  conquests  made  by  the  Crusaders.  So  large  a 
sum  could  not  be  paid  down  at  once,  so  the  Venetians 
granted  a  delay  provided  the  invaders  would  help 
them  to  take  possession  of  Zara  in  Dalmatia.  Consent 
was  given.  Further,  by  the  advice  of  their  Italian 
friends,  they  determined  to  make  Constantinople  the 
basis  of  their  operations,  and  having  thus  settled  the 
preliminar)'  difficulties,  they  started. 

It  is  interesting  that  the  first  French  prose  writer 
worthy  of  that  name  should  have  been  the  historian  of 
the  fourth  Crusade ;  we  mean  Geoffroi  de  Villehardouin, 
who  took  a  part  in  it  himself  and  related,  so  to  say,  his 
own  experiences.  Born  about  the  year  1167,  Ville- 
hardouin was  a  member  of  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished families  in  Champagne,  and  had  filled  with 
distinction  the  important  post  of  marshal  of  that  pro- 
vince, when,  in  1199,  he  was  prevailed  upon  by  Count 
Thibault  to  join  the  Crusade.  One  of  his  companions, 
Geoffroi  de  Joinville,  had  for  his  nephew  the  celebrated 
friend  and  biographer  of  Saint  Louis.  Villehardouin 
was  one  of  those  who  went  to  negotiate  with  the 
Venetians  about  the  conveyance  of  the  troops  to  the 
Holy  Land.  After  the  taking  of  Constantinople  he 
received  as  a  reward  for  his  services  the  Marquisate 
de  Montferrat  with  the  gift  of  a  fief  in  Thessaly,  and  he 
died  there  about  the  year  12 13.  The  work  in  which 
Villehardouin  gives  us  the  account  of  the  Crusade  is 
entitled  "  La  Conqueste  de  Constantinoble,"  and  with 
all  its  shortcomings  in  the  way  of  accuracy  and  histo- 
rical fidelity,  it  is  a  most  interesting  work.  The  events  it 
describes  are  those  comprised  between  1 198  and  1207. 


CONQUEST  OF   CONSTANTINOPLE.  Sr 

The  Crusading  Princes  having  resolved  upon  going 
to  Constantinople,  the  young  Prince  Alexios  offered 
to  be  their  guide  on  condition  that  they  should  restore 
to  the  throne  his  father,  Isaac  Angelos,  whose  power 
had  been  usurped  (1203).  Villehardouin  describes  in 
a  very  picturesque  manner  the  effect  produced  upon 
the  Crusaders  by  the  first  view  of  Constantinople. 
"Those  who  had  never  seen  it  did  not  believe  that 
there  could  be  so  rich  a  city  in  the  whole  world.  When 
they  beheld  those  lofty  walls  and  rich  towers  by  which 
it  was  surrounded,  and  those  rich  palaces  and  lofty 
churches  of  which  there  were  so  many  that  no  one 
could  believe  it  who  had  not  seen  them  with  his  own 
eyes  ;  and  when  they  saw  the  length  and  the  breadth 
of  the  city,  which  was  the  sovereign  of  all  other  cities, 
know  ye  that  there  was  not  a  man  whose  flesh  did 
not  tremble,  nor  was  it  great  wonder  if  they  were 
moved,  for  never  since  the  creation  of  the  world  was 
so  high  a  deed  undertaken  by  any  nation." 

Constantinople  was  defended  by  an  army  of  60,000 
men,  but  they  gave  way  most  ignominiously,  the  city 
was  taken  by  storm  (July  18,  1203),  and  the  old  em- 
peror, released  Irom  captivity,  was  reinstated  upon  his 
throne.  This  unfortunate  monarch  had  made  to  the 
Crusaders  promises  which  he  could  fulfil  only  by 
grinding  down  his  subjects  with  taxes.  A  fresh  revo- 
lution was  the  result.  Alexios  was  strangled,  and 
Murtzulph,  who  usurped  the  power,  ordered  the  gates 
of  the  city  to  be  closed  against  the  Christians.  Another 
siege  was  the  result  (March,  1204),  disgraced  on  the 
part  of  the  Crusaders  by  the  most  horrible  excesses. 
The  establishment  of  a  Prankish  empire  at  Constant!- 


82  PHILIP  AUGUSTUS. 

nople  prevented  the  expedition  to  the  Holy  Land. 
Baldwin  IV.,  Count  of  Flanders,  was  elected  Emperor  ; 
the  Marquis  de  Montferrat  received  the  title  of  King  of 
Macedon  ;  there  were  Dukes  of  Athens  and  of  Naxos, 
Counts  of  Cephalonia,  Lords  of  Thebes  and  of 
Corinth.  The  Venetians  retained  for  themselves  a 
whole  district  of  Constantinople,  together  with  all  the 
seaports  and  islands  belonging  to  the  empire.  But 
this  new  organization  had  no  elements  of  stability  ;  it 
would  have  required  a  greater  amount  of  military  force 
than  was  available,  and  the  collapse  took  place  in  1261, 
when  the  Greeks  recovered  Constantinople.  "  For 
thirteen  years  the  Emperor  Baldwin  bore  about  with 
him  an  empty  title  which  won  for  him  the  commisera- 
tion or  the  contempt  of  thousands  who  could  not  be 
brought  to  stir  hand  or  foot  in  his  service.  His  pre- 
tensions were  maintained  by  his  son  Philip,  and 
through  his  grand-daughter  Catherine  passed  to  her 
husband,  Charles  de  Valois,  brother  of  Philip  the 
Fair  of  F'rance."  ^ 

The  next  event  we  have  to  describe  in  connection 
with  the  reign  of  Philip  Augustus  is  the  one  which 
illustrates  in  the  saddest  manner  the  spirit  of  intoler- 
ance wliich  characterized  the  Middle  Ages.  We  allude 
to  the  crusade  against  the  Albigenses.  We  have  said 
elsewhere  that  the  river  Loire  separated  as  a  broad 
line  of  demarcation,  two  forms  of  civilization  essen- 
tially different  from  each  other.  In  the  north  {pays 
de  Langiic  (foil)  the  Teutonic  element  prevailed  ; 
manners  were  rough,  commerce  in  a  most  rudimentary 
state,  literature  imperfect,  luxury,  comparatively  un- 
'  Cox,  "  The  Crusades." 


CRUSADE   AGAINST    THE   ALBIGENSES.  83 

known,  and  peace  a  very  rare  exception.  In  the  south 
(ptrj'S  de  Laugne  cfoc),  on  the  other  hand,  Hterature 
had  reached  a  high  state  of  perfection,  commerce  had 
introduced  ease  and  luxury,  and  the  administration  of 
the  towns  gave  all  the  conditions  of  peace  and 
material  prosperity.  But  an  over-refined  state  of 
civilization  often  leads  to  a  loose  state  of  morality,  and 
later  on  libertinism  is  almost  as  a  rule  associated 
with  free  thinking.  Such  was  the  case  south  of  the 
Loire.  Heresies  and  sects  rapidly  multiplied,  the  best 
known  being  that  of  the  Albigcnses,  thus  named 
because  their  headquarters  were  in  the  town  of  Albi. 
They  held  the  philosophical  doctrines  of  the  Mani- 
chaians,  that  is  to  say,  they  admitted  two  Gods, 
identified  respectively  with  the  principles  of  good  and 
evil,  some  of  them  believing  further  that  the  creator 
of  evil  had  himself  been  created  by  the  good  deity, 
and  had  fallen  from  his  first  estate  by  rebellion.  Be 
it  as  it  may,  Raymond  V.,  Count  of  Toulouse,  sent  in 
1 177  a  formal  complaint  against  the  heretics  to  the 
abbot  and  community  of  Citeaux  ;  and  it  is  further 
supposed  that  he  urged  the  Kings  of  France  and 
England  to  agree  upon  certain  strong  measures  for 
the  suppression  of  the  heterodox  doctrines.  Innocent 
III.,  on  his  part,  was  fully  alive  to  the  danger  which 
threatened  the  Church,  but  his  first  efforts  met  with 
no  success.  In  1203,  however,  he  appointed  two 
leg-ates,  of  whom  Pierre  de  Castelnau  is  the  best 
known,  for  the  exclusive  purpose  of  putting  down 
heresy  in  the  province  of  Languedoc ;  and  these 
monks  proceeded  at  once  to  the  discharge  of  their 
task,  powerfully  assisted  by  a  Spanish  priest,  Dominic 


84 


PHILIP  AUGUSTUS. 


de  Guzman,  belonging  to  the  diocese  of  Osma.  In 
the  meanwhile  the  Count  of  Toulouse  had  died,  and 
his  successor  Raymond  VI.  was  suspected  of  favouring 
the  Albigenses.  Everything  was  done  to  frighten 
him  into  orthodoxy  ;  but  even  a  sentence  of  excom- 
munication had  no  effect  ;  and  finally  a  gentleman  o( 
his  household  murdered  the  legate,  Pierre  deCasLelnau, 


SE^L   OF   SIMON    DE    MONTFORT. 

near  Saint  Gilles  (January  15,  1208).  This  tragedy 
led  to  the  preaching  of  a  crusade,  in  which  the  Pope 
offered  to  those  who  would  join  it  the  advantages 
enjoyed  by  the  faithful  who  went  to  defend  the  Holy 
Land.  The  war  soon  assumed  the  character  of  an 
international  rather  tlian  a  rch'gious  contest.  Under 
the   leadership  of  Simon   de   Alontfort,  the  whole  of 


HERETICS  AND   INFIDELS.  85 

Langued'oil  invaded  Languedoc,  and  the  result  was 
the  destruction  of  southern  civilization  and  of  the  ^-di 
savoir.  The  greatest  ferocity  marked  all  the  incidents 
of  the  war :  thus  fifteen  thousand  persons  were 
slaughtered  at  the  siege  of  Beziers  ;  the  powerful 
Counts  of  Toulouse,  the  Viscounts  of  Narbonne  and 
Beziers  were  dispossessed,  and  the  King  of  Arragon, 
who  had  come  to  their  assistance,  fell  at  the  battle 
of  Muret  (12 13). 

Simon  de  Montfort  profited  by  the  disaster  which 
had  thus  visited  the  south,  for  the  Papal  legate  gave 
over  to  him  the  domains  of  the  Languedoc  barons  ; 
but  he  was  killed  under  the  walls  of  Toulouse  ;  and 
his  son  Amaury,  unable  to  face  the  universal  repro- 
bation of  the  conquered  populations,  offered  his 
domains  to  the  King  of  France.  This  proposition, 
declined  at  first,  was  finally  accepted. 

It  is  interesting  to  find  how  the  barbarity  exercised 
against  heretics  and  infidels  is  reflected  in  the  popular 
literature  of  the  time,  and  recognized  as  a  matter  of 
course,  and  as  the  distinctive  mark  of  all  really  Chris- 
tian governments.  Thus  in  the  romance  entitled 
"  Floire  et  Blanceflor  "  we  find  a  curious  exam[)le  of 
religious  '  zeal  carried  on  to  painful  extremities. 
Floire,  the  hero,  son  of  a  heathen  prince,  becomes  a 
convert  to  Christianity,  and  no  sooner  is  he  received 
within  the  fold  of  the  Church  than  he  compells  all  his 
subjects  to  follow  his  example  : 

"Qui  le  baptesme  refusoit, 
Ne  en    Diu   croire  ne   voloit, 
Floire  les  faisoit  escorchier, 
Ardoir  en  fu  ou  destrenchier." 


86  PHILIP   AUGUSTUS. 

"Those  who  refused  baptism, 
And  who  would  not  believe  in  God, 
Fl(  ire  caused  them  to  be  flayed  alive, 
Burnt  in  the  fire,  or  beheaded." 

The  compulsory  baptism  of  the  Saxons  by  Charle- 
magne was  a  case  which  the  troiivere  might  adduce, 
but  the  question  still  remains  whether  the  stake  and 
the  sword  have  ever  made  real  converts,  and  the 
history  of  the  Albigenses  is  there  to  supply  a  negative 
answer.  The  only  good  result  of  the  crusade  was  the 
unity  of  France,  and  the  fusing,  the  welding  together 
of  two  races  into  one  nationality,  capable  henceforth 
of  holding  its  own  against  all  foreign  enemies,  whether 
German,  Italian,  or  English. 

We  must  now  say  a  few  words  about  the  relations 
of  Philip  Augustus  with  the  Papacy.  They  were  not 
of  a  very  amicable  character.  On  one  occasion  the 
king  was  decidedly  wrong,  on  the  other  he  was  right. 
His  first  wife,  Isabella  of  Hainault,  having  died,  he 
married  Ingelburge,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Den- 
mark ;  but,  strange  to  say,  he  at  once  conceived  a 
strong  aversion  towards  her,  repudiated  her  almost 
immediately  after  the  marriage,  and  obtained  a 
sentence  of  nullity  from  a  council  summoned  at  Com- 
piegne.  This  step  was  followed  by  his  espousing 
Agnes  de  Meranie,  the  beautiful  daughter  of  the 
Count  of  Istria.  So  gross  a  violation  of  all  the  laws 
of  morality  and  of  decency  could  not  remain  un- 
punished, and  after  vain  efforts  to  bring  Philip  Augustus 
to  rea.son,  Innocent  III.  placed  the  kingdom  under  a 
sentence  of  interdict,  which  meant  the  entire  cessation 
of  all  religious  services,  except  the  administration  of 


FRANCE    UNDER   INTERDICT. 


87 


baptism  to  new-born  infants  and  of  extreme  unction 
to  the  dying.  This  melancholy  state  of  things  lasted 
eight  months.  In  vain  did  the  king  deprive  of  their 
sees  the  prelates  who  observed  the  interdict  ;  in  vain 
did  he  imprison  Ingelburge.  He  was  at  last  com- 
pelled to  yield,  and  taking  back  the  Danish  princess, 
he  separated  from  Agnes,  who  died  broken-hearted  in 
1213. 
The   second  occasion  on  which    Philip  Augustus 


^rX' 


PARIS    UNDER    PHILIPPE   AUGUSTE. 


resisted  the  Pope  was  when,  despite  the  threats  of 
Innocent  III.,  he  took  possession  of  the  fiefs  which 
John  Lackland  had  lost  by  his  felony.  Here  he  was 
perfectly  right,  and  he  brought  his  undertaking  to  a 
prosperous  issue. 

Philip  Augustus  did  much  for  the  administration 
and  police  of  the  kingdom,  the  beautifying  of  the 
city  of   Paris,  and  the  extension   of  commerce    and 


88  PHILIP  AUGUSTUS. 

industry.  We  have  already  said  that  the  earliest 
statutes  of  the  Paris  University  were  his  work.  He 
took  the  greatest  pains  with  the  administration  of 
justice,  established  an  improved  fiscal  system,  and 
was  the  author  of  a  most  valuable  institution,  named 
La  Quarantaine-le-roi.  By  virtue  of  this  enactment, 
whenever  any  crime  or  injury  had  been  committed,  all 
private  wars  which  would  have  resulted  from  it  were 
strictly  prohibited  for  a  period  of  forty  days,  in  the 
meanwhile  the  King  had  the  offender  arrested  and 
punished, 

Philip  Augustus  died  in  1223,  and  was  succeeded 
b}-  his  son  Louis,  of  whom  all  that  can  be  said  is  that 
he  was  the  son  and  the  father  of  two  great  monarchs. 
0.1  his  mother's  side  (Isabella  of  Hainault)  he  de- 
scended from  Charlemagne,  so  that  by  a  fortunate 
coincidence  he  united  in  his  own  person  the  rights  both 
of  the  Carlovingians  and  of  the  Capetians.  He 
conquered  over  the  English  part  of  Poitou,  Aunis, 
La  Rochelle,  Limoges,  and  Perigueux.  Continuing 
the  war  against  the  Albigenses,  he  took  possession  of 
Avignon,  obtained  the  submission  of  the  entire  south- 
west of  the  Rhone,  with  the  exception  of  Toulouse 
and  Guienne,  thus  carrying  on  the  work  of  territorial 
unity.  Royal  seneschals  and  bailiffs  were  appointed, 
at  Beziers,  Beaucaire,  and  Carcassonne.  Louis  VHI. 
was  only  39  years  old  when  he  died,  on  the  8th 
of  November,  1226. 


WALLS  OF  CARCASSONNE. 


V. 


SAINT   LOUIS,   TO    HIS    RETURN    FROM    HIS   FIRST 

CRUSADE. 

(1226— 1254.) 

Louis  VIII.  had  married  Blanche  of  Castile,  a 
princess  remarkable  both  for  her  personal  attractions 
and  for  her  moral  and  intellectual  qualities.  She  com- 
bined with  deep  religious  views  and  earnest  piety  the 
greatest  firmness  of  character  and  political  skill  of  no 
mean  order.  She  had  four  sons — Louis,  who  succeeded 
to  the  throne,  Robert,  Count  of  Artois,  Alphonse, 
Count  of  Poitou,  and  Charles,  Count  of  Anjou  and  of 
Maine.  The  crown  was  on  the  head  of  a  mere  child, 
only  eleven  years  old,  and  the  regent  w^as  both  a 
woman  and  a  foreigner.  The  barons  thought  the 
occasion  an  excellent  one  to  recover  their  lost  au- 
thority, and  accordingly  they  made  an  alliance  against 
Queen  Blanche.  She  proved,  however,  too  clever  for 
them,  and  the  confederacy  utterly  failed.  Amongst 
the  rebellious  barons  the  most  powerful  was  Thibaut, 
Count  of  Champagne,  who,  not  satisfied  with  the 
accomplishments  of  a  knight  and  a  soldier,  aimed 
also  at  being  considered  a  lover  of  literature,  and  even 
wrote  poetry.     Whether  the  beauty  of  Blanche  cap- 


LOUIS  IX.  91 

tivated  him,  or  her  remonstrances  put  him  to  shame, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  decide  now,  although  the  pro- 
bability is  that  both  causes  had  a  share  in  influencing 
him  on  the  side  of  loyalty ;  at  any  rate,  he  separated 
himself  from  his  former  confederates,  and  became  the 
staunchest  champion  of  the  regency.  The  queen,  in 
her  turn,  defended  Thibaut  from  the  attacks  of  the  re- 
bellious nobles,  and  he  having,  through  an  inheritance, 
become  King  of  Navarre,  made  over  to  the  Crown  the 
countships  of  Blois,  Chartres,  and  Sancerre.  Two  other 
barons  held  out  obstinately  for  a  long  time,  namely, 
Philip  Hurepel,  the  late  king's  half-brother,  who  was 
irritated  at  having  his  supposed  claims  to  the  regency 
set  aside  in  favour  of  a  foreign  woman,  and  Mauclerc, 
Count  of  Brittany.  The  death  of  the  former  of  these 
noblemen  and  the  submission  of  the  latter  came 
opportunely  to  strengthen  the  power  of  the  Crown. 
A  treaty  signed  in  1229  secured  to  one  of  the  king's 
brothers  the  domains  of  the  Count  of  Toulouse,  and  a 
marriage  between  another  prince  of  the  royal  family 
and  the  heiress  of  Provence,  further  enlarged  the 
kingdom  of  France.  Thus  the  reign  began  most 
auspiciously,  and  even  when  the  majority  of  the  king 
was  proclaimed  (1230),  Blanche  of  Castile  retained  all 
her  influence  and  her  share  in  the  management  of 
affairs. 

The  treaty  of  1229  just  alluded  to  put  an  end  to 
theAlbigensian  difficulties  and  brought  about  the  paci- 
fication of  Southern  France  ;  but  in  order  to  prevent 
the  recurrence  of  heretical  opinions,  an  ecclesiastical 
court  was  established  at  Toulouse  by  virtue  of  a 
council  held  that   same  year.     It  was  styled  the  In- 


92 


LOUIS  IX. 


gjiisition,  and  its  members  were  selected  from  the 
order  of  Dominicans.  The  baneful  influence  exercised 
b)'  the  tribunal  of  the  inquisition  over  Christendom 
has  often  been  described,  and  need  not  be  more  than 
alluded  to  again.     Suffice  it  to  say,  that  it  was  the 


SAINT   LOUIS. 


most    formidable  engine  of   ecclesiastical    despotism 
the  world  ever  saw. 

Under  the  careful  and  judicious  training  of  his 
mother,  Louis  IX.  became  a  model  king,  a  pattern  of 
all  the  virtues  which  most  befit  the  ruler  of  a  great 
nation,  especially  if  wc  consider  the  troublous  times 


yOINVlLLE.  93 

during  which  he  had  to  live.  Let  us  quote  on  that 
subject  a  few  extracts  from  the  /hih'c  and  beautiful 
memoir  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  his  friend  and 
confidential  adviser,  Jean,  Sire  de  Joinville. 

"  The  holy  king  loved  truth  so  much  that  even  to 
the  Saracens  and  infidels,  although  they  were  his 
enemies,  he  would  never  lie,  nor  break  his  word  in 
anything  he  had  promised  them. 

"  In  his  conversation  he  was  remarkably  chaste  ; 
for  I  never  heard  him,  at  any  time,  utter  an  indecent 
word,  nor  make  use  of  the  devil's  name,  which,  how- 
ever, is  now  very  commonly  uttered  by  every  one,  but 
which,  I  firmly  believe,  is  so  far  from  being  agreeable 
to  God  that  it  is  highly  displeasing  to  Him. 

"  My  good  lord  the  king  asked  me  if  I  should  wish 
to  be  honoured  in  this  world,  and  afterwards  to  gain 
paradise  ;  to  which  I  answered  that  I  wished  it  were 
so.  '  Then,'  replied  he,  *  be  careful  never  knowingly 
to  do  or  say  anything  disgraceful,  that,  should  it 
become  public,  }-ou  may  not  have  to  blush  and  be 
ashamed  to  say,  "  I  have  done  this,"  or  "  I  have  said 
that."  '  In  like  manner  he  told  me  never  to  give  the 
lie,  or  contradict  rudely  whatever  might  be  said  in  my 
presence,  unless  it  should  be  sinful  or  disgraceful  to 
suffer  it,  for  oftentimes  contradiction  causes  coarse 
replies  and  harsh  words,  that  bring  on  quarrels,  which 
create  bloodshed,  and  are  the  means  of  the  deaths  of 
thousands." 

It  is  very  amusing  to  see,  every  now  and  then, 
honest  Joinville  scandalizing  the  pious  king  by  the 
frankness  of  his  answers,  which  were  not  strictly 
orthodox. 


94  LOUIS  IX. 

"The  good  king,  once  calling  me  to  him,  said  he 
wanted  to  talk  with  me  on  account  of  the  quickness 
of  understanding  he  knew  I  possessed.  In  the  presence 
of  several  persons  he  added  :  '  I  have  called  these  two 
monks,  and  before  them  ask  }-ou  this  question  respect- 
ing God.  Seneschal,  what  is  God?'  '  Sire,' replied 
I,  '  He  is  so  supremely  good  nothing  can  exceed 
Him.'  'In  truth,'  answered  the  king,  'that  is  well 
said,  for  your  answer  is  written  in  the  little  book  I 
have  in  my  hand.  I  will  put  another  question  to 
you,  whether  you  had  rather  be  a  leper,  or  have  com- 
mitted, or  be  about  to  commit,  a  mortal  sin  ?  '  But  I, 
who  would  not  tell  a  lie,  replied  that  I  would  rather 
have  committed  thirty  deadly  sins  than  be  a  leper." 

"  When  the  two  friars  were  gone  away  he  called  me 
to  him  alone,  making  me  sit  at  his  feet,  and  said  : 
'  How  could  you  dare  to  make  the  answer  you  did 
to  my  last  question  ?  '  When  I  replied,  '  Were  I  to 
answer  it  again  I  should  repeat  the  same  thing,'  he 
instantly  said  :  '  Ah  !  foolish  idiot,  you  are  deceived  ; 
for  you  must  know  that  there  can  be  no  leprosy  so 
filthy  as  mortal  sin,  and  the  soul  that  is  guilty  of  such 

is  like  the  devil   in  hell I  therefore  entreat  of 

you,  first  for  the  love  of  God,  and  next  for  the  affec- 
tion you  bear  me,  that  you  retain  in  your  heart  what 
I  have  said,  and  that  you  would  much  rather  prefer 
having  your  body  covered  with  the  most  filthy 
leprosy  than  suffer  your  soul  to  commit  a  single  deadly 
sin,  which  is  of  all  things  the  most  infamous." 

Passages  such  as  those  we  have  just  quoted,  and 
many  others  which  might  be  adduced,  give  us  a  true 
insight  into  the  character  of  Louis  IX.,  scrupulously 


THE    ENGLISH   IN   FRANCE.  95 

honest,  high-minded,  influenced  throughout  his  Hfe  by 
the  principles  of  Christianity,  the  incarnation  of 
justice,  adherence  to  duty,  and  patience  in  long-suf- 
fering. His  defects  were  a  certain  deficiency  of  clear 
ideas  in  carrying  out  his  designs,  a  want  of  firmness 
in  his  resolves,  and  a  certain  inability  to  exercise 
stern  authority.  This  appeared  most  in  the  Crusades, 
to  which  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  by  and  by 
at  greater  length. 

The  English  were  still  endeavouring  to  secure  a 
footing  in  France  by  exciting  the  barons  to  revolt. 
Defeated  at  Taillebourg  and  at  Saintes,  they  would 
probably  have  been  entirely  driven  out  of  the  king- 
dom, had  it  not  been  for  the  scruples  of  the  king. 
Here  again  his  innate  honesty  appeared  in  all  its 
force,  in  what  others  would  have  called  unnecessary 
strictness.  The  royal  domains  had  been  extended  to 
three  times  their  original  dimensions  by  the  acquisi- 
tions made  during  the  last  fifty  years.  Louis  objected 
to  what  was  the  result  of  two  confiscations.  By  virtue, 
therefore,  of  a  treaty  which  was  signed  only  in  1259, 
he  left  to  the  King  of  England  the  duchies  of  Guienne 
and  Gascogne,  on  condition  that  he  should  do  homage 
for  them  to  the  French  Crown  ;  he  also  obliged  those 
lords  who  held  fiefs  from  both  crowns  to  choose  be- 
tween the  two  suzerains. 

Driven  out  of  Italy  by  the  emperor,  Frederick  U., 
Pope  Innocent  IV.  took  refuge  in  France,  and  held 
(1245)  at  Lyons  a  council,  in  the  course  of  which  he 
preached  another  Crusade.  The  popularity  of  these 
expeditions  had  waned  to  a  considerable  extent,  and 
thoughtful  people,  instead  of  being  led  to  take   the 


g6  LOUIS  IX. 

cross  in  a  moment  of  enthusiasm,  now  coolly  discussed 
the  results  to  be  obtained  from  a  war  against  the 
infidels. 

"  Horn  puet  bien  en  cest  payx 
Gaaingnier  Dieu  sens  grant  damage  ; 
Je  di  que  cil  est  foux  nayx 
Qui  se  mest  en  autrui  servages. 
Quant  Dieu  peut  gaaingnier  sayx 
Et  vivre  de  son  heritage.   .   .  . 
Je  ne  faz  nul  tort  a  nul  home 
N'uns  horn  de  moi  ne  fait  clamour, 
Je  cuiche  tost  et  tien  grand  soiime 
Et  tieng  mes  voisins  a  amour.    .  . 
Je  vueil  entre  mes  voisins  estre 
Et  moi  deduire  et  solacier.  .   .  . 
Distes  le  Soudant  vostre  maistre 
Que  je  prispone  son  menacier  : 
S'il  vient  de^a,  mal  me  vit  naistre 
Mais  lui  ne  I'irrai  pas  chacier.  .  ,  . 
Sermoneiz  ces  hauz  coroneiz, 
Ces  gran  doiens  et  ces  prelaz.  .  .  . 
Clerc  et  prelat  doivent  vengier 
La  honte  Dieu,  qu'il  ont  ces  rentes.   «  o 
lis  ont  a  boire  et  a  mengier.  ,  .. 
C'il  vont  a  Dieu  par  telle  sente, 
Fol  sont  s'il  la  vuelent  changier, 
Car  c'est  de  toutes  la  plus  gente.  .  .  c 
Hom  dit  :  ce  que  tu  tiens,  si  tiens, 
Ci'ost  bien  mot  de  bone  escole.  .  •  • 
Si  crois  par  S.  Pierre  de  Rome 
Qu'il  me  vaut  miex  que  je  demour. " 

"'  A  man  can  very  well  in  this  country 
Obtain  God  without  running  much  risk; 
I  maintain  that  he  is  a  born  fool 
Who  places  himself  under  the  dependence  of  others 
When  he  can  secure  God, 
And,  withal,  live  in  his  inheritance.  .    .  . 
I  do  wrong  to  no  man, 
And  no  man  complains  of  me. 


LOUIS   IX.    AND    THE    CRUSADE.  97 

I  go  to  bed  early  and  sleep  soundly, 

And  I  love  my  neighbours.  .  .  . 

I  wish  to  live  amongst  my  neighlxnirs. 

And  enjoy  and  solace  myself.  .  .  . 

Tell  the  Suhan,  your  mas'er, 

That  I  don't  care  for  his  threats. 

If  he  should  come  here  so  much  the  worse  for  me  ; 

But  I  shall  not  go  in  pursuit  of  him.   .    .   . 

Preach  to  tliose  high-crowned  princes, 

Those  great  deans  and  prelates.   .   •  . 

Clerks  and  prelates  should  avenge 

The  shame  cast  upon  God,  for  He  bestows  upon  them 

their  incomes.   .   .   . 
They  have  plenty  to  eat  and  to  drink.  .  .  . 
If  they  can  go  to  God  by  such  a  path 
It  would  be  foolish  in  them  to  change  it ; 
For  of  all  it  is  the  pleasantest.  .   .  . 
Some  one  says  :   '  Lord,  part  what  thou  hast.' 
This  is  certainly  a  sound  thought. 
I  believe,  by  the  name  of  S.  Peter  of  Rome, 
That  is  better  for  me  to  stay  here." 


Thus  said  the  troiivere  Rutebeuf  in  his  "  Desputizon 
du  Croise  et  du  Decroise,"  and  he  was  only  expressing 
the  opinion  of  all  sensible  men  ;  but  Saint  Louis  who, 
struck  down  by  a  severe  illness  (1244),  had  made  a 
vow  to  go  to  the  Holy  Land,  thought  that  the  time 
had  come  for  him  to  carry  out  his  intention.  After 
making  the  necessary  preparations,  he  took  ship  at 
the  harbour  of  Aigues-Mortes  (1248),  at  the  head  of 
a  considerable  army,  leaving  his  mother,  Blanche,  for 
this  time  also,  regent  of  the  kingdom.  Some  of  the 
Crusaders  embarked  at  Marseilles,  and,  amongst 
others  (somewhat  reluctantly),  the  brave  Seneschal  of 
Champagne,  Jean,  Sire  de  Joinville. 

"It  was  the  month  of  August  in  this  same  year 
(we  quote  the   honest  chronicler's  own  story)  that  we 


yOINVILLE   AND    VILLEHARDOUIN.  gg 

embarked  at  the  rock  of  Marseilhs,  and  the  ports  of  the 
vessel  were  opened  to  allow  the  horses  we  intended 
carrying  with  us  to  enter.  When  we  were  all  on 
board,  the  port  was  caulked  and  stopped  up  as  close 
as  a  large  tun  of  wine,  because,  when  the  vessel  was 
at  sea,  the  port  was  under  water.  Shortly  after,  the 
captain  of  the  ship  called  out  to  its  people  on  the 
prow,  '  Is  your  work  done  ?  are  we  ready  ? '  They 
replied,  '  Yes,  in  truth,  we  are.'  " 

"  When  the  priests  and  clerks  embarked,  the 
captain  made  them  mount  to  the  castle  of  the  ship, 
and  chant  psalms  in  praise  of  God,  that  He  might  be 
pleased  to  grant  us  a  prosperous  voyage.  They  all, 
with  a  loud  voice,  sang  the  beautiful  hymn  of  '  Veni 
Creator,'  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  ;  and  while 
they  were  singing,  the  mariners  set  their  sails  in  the 
name  of  God.  Instantly  after,  a  breeze  of  wind  filled 
our  sails,  and  soon  made  us  lose  sight  of  the  land,  so 
that  we  only  saw  sea  and  sky,  and  each  day  we  were 
at  a  farther  distance  from  the  place  from  which  we 
had  set  out." 

"  I  must  say  here,  that  he  is  a  great  fool  who  shall 
put  himself  in  such  danger,  having  wronged  any  one 
or  having  any  mortal  sins  on  his  conscience  ;  for  when 
he  goes  to  sleep  in  the  evening,  he  knows  not  if  in  the 
morning  he  may  not  find  himself  under  the  sea." 

This  extract,  taken  from  Joinville's  "Life  of  Saint 
Louis,"  is  a  good  specimen  of  one  of  the  best  models 
of  French  mediaeval  literature.  The  friend  of  Saint 
Louis  possesses  all  the  picturesque  qualities  of  Ville- 
hardouin,  together  with  a  tenderness,  a  pathos  which 
we  do  not  find  in  the  "  Conqueste  de  Constantinoble." 


100  BATTLE   OF  MANSURAH. 

The  flotilla  forming  the  expedition  arrived  safely  to 
the  Egyptian  shores,  and  the  city  of  Damietta  was 
taken  on  the  7th  of  July,  1249.  Unfortunately,  the 
Crusaders  wasted  much  valuable  time  before  con- 
tinuing their  journey  towards  Cairo,  and  the  Mame- 
lukes, cheered  by  the  hesitations  of  their  enemies, 
defeated  them  at  Mansurah  (February,  1250).  One 
passage  from  Joinvillc's  account  of  the  battle  may 
appropriately  be  given  here  : 

"  After  some  little  time,  the  Count  Peter  of  Brittany 
came  to  us  who  were  guarding  the  small  bridge  from 
Mansurah,  having  had  a  most  furious  skirmish.  He 
was  so  badly  wounded  in  the  face  that  the  blood  came 
out  of  his  mouth  as  if  it  had  been  full  of  water,  and 
he  vomited  it  forth.  The  Count  was  mounted  on  a 
short,  thick,  but  strong  horse,  and  the  reins  and  the 
pommel  of  his  saddle  were  cut  and  destroyed,  so 
that  he  was  forced  to  hold  himself  by  his  two  hands 
round  the  horse's  neck,  for  fear  the  Turks,  who  were 
close  behind  him,  should  make  him  fall  off.  He  did 
not,  however,  seem  much  afraid  of  them,  for  he  fre- 
quently turned  round,  and  gave  them  many  abusive 
words,  by  way  of  mockery." 

The  battle  of  Mansurah  cost  the  life  of  many  a 
noble  and  stalwart  knight,  amongst  others  one  of  the 
king's  brothers,  the  Count  d'Artois. 

"Thus," says  Joinville,  "as  we  were  riding  together, 
Father  Henry,  prior  of  the  hospital  of  Ronnay,  who 
had  crossed  the  river,  came  to  him  (Saint  Louis)  and 
kissed  his  hand,  fully  armed,  and  asked  if  he  had 
heard  any  news  of  his  brother,  the  Count  d'Artois. 
'Yes,'  replied  the  king,  '  I  have  heard  all: '  that  is  to 


THE   PLAGUE.  lOI 

say,  that  he  knew  well  he  was  now  in  Paradise.  The 
prior,  thinking  to  comfort  him  for  the  death  of  his 
brother,  continued  :  '  Sire,  no  King  of  France  has 
ever  reaped  such  honour  as  you  have  done  ;  for  with 
great  intrepidity  have  you  and  your  army  crossed  a 
dangerous  river  to  combat  j'our  enemies  ;  and  have 
been  so  very  successful  that  }'ou  ha\'e  put  them  to 
flight  and  gained  the  field,  together  with  their  warlike 
engines,  with  which  they  had  wonderfully  annoyed 
you  ;  and  concluded  the  affair  by  taking  possession 
this  day  of  their  camp  and  quarters.' " 

"The  good  king  replied  that  God  should  be  adored 
for  all  the  good  H?  had  granted  him  ;  and  then  heavy 
tears  began  to  fall  down  his  cheeks,  which  many  great 
persons  noticing  were  oppressed  with  anguish  and 
compassion  on  seeing  him  thus  weep,  praising  the 
name  of  God,  who  had  enabled  him  to  gain  the 
victory." 

Not  only  was  the  Crusading  army  surrounded  by 
the  enemies,  it  had  also  to  suffer  from  the  plague, 
which  did  sad  havoc  amongst  the  troops,  striking 
down  Joinville  himself  and  his  chaplain. 

"  My  poor  friend,"  we  continue  our  quotations, 
"was  as  ill  as  myself;  and  one  day  when  he  was 
singing  mass  before  me  as  I  lay  in  my  bed,  at  the 
moment  of  the  elevation  of  the  host,  I  saw  him  so 
exceedingly  weak  that  he  was  near  fainting  ;  but 
when  I  perceived  that  he  was  on  the  point  of  falling 
to  the  ground,  I  flung  myself  out  of  bed,  sick  as  I 
was,  and  taking  my  coat,  embraced  him,  and  bade 
him  be  at  his  ease,  and  take  courage  from  Him 
whom  he  held   in  his  hands.      He    reco\ered    some 


102  THE    QUEEN   OF  FRANCE. 

little  ;  but  I  never  quitted  him  till  he  had  finished 
the  mass,  which  he  completed,  and  this  was  the  last, 
for  he  never  after  celebrated  another,  but  died.  God 
receive  his  soul  !  " 

Louis  IX.  had  married,  in  1234,  Marguerite, 
daughter  of  Raymond  Berenger  IV.,  Count  of  Pro- 
vence. She  insisted  upon  accompanying  her  husband 
on  the  expedition,  and  shared  with  the  greatest  forti- 
tude and  devotedness  all  the  dangers  to  which  the 
king  was  exposed.  Whilst  in  France,  she  had  had 
much  to  suffer  from  Blanche  of  Castile,  who,  not- 
withstanding all  her  brilliant  qualities,  was  imperious, 
jealous,  and  exacting.  Removed  from  her  influence, 
Marguerite  gave  herself  up  exclusively  to  the  duty  of 
cheering  her  husband,  encouraging  him  amidst  all  his 
difficulties,  and  bearing  her  full  share  of  the  dangers 
attending  the  unfortunate  expedition. 

"  You  must  know,  also,  that  the  good  queen  was 
not  without  her  share  [of  miseries],  and  very  bitter  to 
her  heart,  as  you  shall  soon  hear.  Three  days  before 
she  was  brought  to  bed,  she  was  informed  that  the 
good  king,  her  husband,  had  been  made  prisoner, 
which  so  troubled  her  mind,  that  she  seemed  con- 
tinually to  see  her  chamber  filled  with  Saracens  ready 
to  slay  her  ;  and  she  kept  incessantly  crying  out, 
'  Help !  help  ! '  when  there  was  not  a  soul  near  her.  For 
fear  her  child  should  perish,  she  made  a  knight  watch 
at  the  foot  of  her  bed  without  sleeping.  This  knight 
was  very  old,  not  less  than  eighty  years,  or  perhaps 
more  ;  and  every  time  she  screamed  he  held  her 
hands  and  said,  '  Madam,  do  not  be  thus  alarmed  ;  I 
am  with  you,  cjuit  these  fears.'  " 


104 


THE    FRENCH   LEAVE    EGYPT. 


"  Before  the  good  lady  was  brought  to  bed,  she 
ordered  every  person  to  leave  her  chamber  except  the 
ancient  knight  ;  she  then  cast  herself  out  of  bed 
on  her  knees  before  him,  and  requested  that  he  would 
grant  her  a  boon.  The  knight,  with  an  oath,  pro- 
mised compliance.  The  Queen  then  said,  '  Sir 
Knight,  I  request  on  the  oath  you  have  sworn,  that 
should  the  Saracens  storm  this  town  and  take  it,  )'ou 
will  cut  off  my  head  before  they  seize  my  person.' 
The  knight  replied  that  he  would  cheerfully  so  do, 
and  that  he  had  before  thought  of  it,  in  case  such  an 
event  should  happen." 

The  European  knights  were  finally  compelled  to 
yield  themselves  prisoners,  together  with  the  king, 
whose  spirit  and  lofty  bearing  inspired  the  Sara- 
cens with  respect.  The  price  required  previous  to  the 
conclusion  of  a  treaty  and  the  release  of  Louis  IX. 
was  a  verv  heavy  one,  viz.,  the  surrender  of  Damietta 
and  of  several  fortresses  which  the  Christians  still 
held  in  Palestine,  besides  a  sum  of  500,000  Hvres 
(£.408,280  of  modern  English  money).  The  King  of 
France  flatly  refused  to  comply  with  the  second  clause 
of  the  proposition,  declaring  that  he  had  no  power  to 
give  up  what  was  not  his  own,  but  the  property  of  the 
other  Christian  princes  and  religious  orders.  Finally, 
the  Sultan  agreed  to  rhe  terms  named  by  Louis,  the 
giving  up  of  Damietta  and  the  sum  we  have  just 
mentioned  :  he  was  even  astonished  that  the  king  had 
not  objected  to  the  payment  of  so  great  a  ransom. 
"  By  my  faith,"  said  he,  "  the  Frank  is  liberal  not  to 
have  haggled  about  the  money.  Go  tell  him  that  1 
will  give  him  100,000  livres  towards  it," 


DEATH   OF   BLANCHE   OF   CASTILE.  I05 

On  the  /th  of  May,  1250,  the  Crusaders  left  the 
shores  of  Egypt,  and  on  the  14th  they  reached 
Palestine,  and  landed  at  St.  Jean  d'Acre. 

Louis  IX.  remained  in  the  Holy  Land  for  the  space 
of  four  more  years,  visiting  all  the  towns  still  held 
by  the  Christians,  repairing  the  fortifications  wher- 
ever necessary,  and  endeavouring  to  put  down  the 
private  feuds  which  had  broken  out  in  several  quar- 
ters between  certain  barons.  Of  all  the  men  who 
had  embarked  with  him  at  Aigues-Mortes  the  great 
majority  returned  to  France  ;  his  two  brothers  were 
of  the  number,  and  when  a  discussion  took  place  on 
the  advisability  of  a  prolonged  stay  of  the  army  in 
the  East,  an  overwhelming  majority  voted  against  it. 
The  very  (ew  Crusaders  who  chose  to  remain  with 
Saint  Louis  would  have  been  utterly  unable  to  attempt 
the  conquest  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  king,  to  whom  the 
Sultan  of  Damascus  offered  every  facility  if  he  wanted 
to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  City,  refused  the 
courteous  proposition.  He  would  not  go  there  except 
as  a  victor  and  by  force  of  arms.  He  was  at  Sidon 
at  the  beginning  of  1253,  when  the  news  reached 
him  that  Queen  Blanche  of  Castile,  his  mother,  had 
died  in  Paris  on  the  27th  of  November,  1252. 

"This  information,"  says  Joinville,  "caused  him 
such  grief  that  he  was  two  days  in  1  is  chamber  with- 
out suffering  any  one  to  see  him.  On  th^  third,  he 
sent  one  of  his  valets  to  seek  me  ;  ;.nd  oii  my  pre- 
senting myself  he  extended  his  arms,  and  said, '  Ah ! 
Seneschal,  I  have  lost  my  mother!'" 

'"  Sir,'  replied  I,  '  I  am  not  surprised  at  it,  for  you 
know  there  must  come  a  time  for  her  death  ;  but  I 


I06  THE   PASTOUREAUX. 

am  indeed  greatly  so,  that  you,  who  are  considered  so 
great  a  prince,  should  so  outrageously  grieve  ;  for  you 
know,'  continued  I,  '  that  the  wise  man  says,  what- 
ever grief  the  valiant  man  suffers  in  his  mind,  he 
ought  not  to  show  it  in  his  countenance,  nor  let  it  be 
publicly  known,  for  he  that  does  so  gives  pleasure  to 
his  enemies  and  sorrow  to  his  friends.'" 

The  death  of  the  Queen  Dowager  created,  as  may  be 
supposed,  great  sensation  throughout  France  ;  nume- 
rous letters  reached  Saint  Louis  begging  for  his  speedy 
return.  Therefore,  leaving  Geoffroi  de  Sargines  at 
the  head  of  one  hundred  knights  to  protect  the  Chris- 
tians in  Syria,  he  started  on  the  24th  of  April,  1254, 
from  St.  Jean  d'Acre,  arrived  at  Hyeres  on  the  8th  of 
July,  and  reached  Paris  on  the  7th  of  September. 

During  the  absence  of  the  king  several  scandalous 
instances  of  abuse  of  authority  had  taken  place  on  the 
part  of  the  clergy,  which  led  to  seditions  of  a  serious 
character.  The  most  important  was  the  revolt  of  the 
Pastonremix  (L.  /^j-Z^r^i-^ shepherds),  caused,  in  the 
first  instance,  by  the  cruelty  of  the  Chapter  of  Notre 
Dame  of  Paris.  The  peasants  of  the  village  of  Chastenai, 
having  refused  to  pay  the  taxes,  a  great  many  of  them 
were  shut  up  in  prison,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
entreaties  of  the  Queen  Regent,  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren shared  the  same  fate.  Other  abuses  of  the  like 
description  led  to  a  general  outbreak,  and  in  1254  the 
revo't  of  the  Pastonrcanx  took  place.  The  chronicler, 
Guillaumc  de  Nangis,  tells  us  that  "some  chiefs  of 
banditii,  in  order  to  deceive  simple  folk  and  excite 
the  people  to  a  Crusade,  announced  by  inventions  full 
of  deceit,  that   they   had  had  visions   of  angels  ;   the 


THE   MASTER    OF  HUXGARY.  1 07 

holy  Virgin  Mary,  they  added,  had  appeared  unto 
them,  commanding  them  to  take  the  cross  and  to 
assemble  an  army  of  shepherds  and  the  most  common 
people,  chosen  by  the  Lord,  for  the  purpose  of  deli- 
vering the  Holy  Land  and  the  King  of  France,  who 
was  a  prisoner  in  that  country.  They  represented  the 
circumstances  of  their  visions  painted  on  banners, 
which  they  caused  to  be  raised  aloft  before  them." 

The  rebellion  broke  out,  first,  in  Flanders  and 
Picardy,  the  leader  being  an  unknown  man  called  the 
Master  of  Hungary — eloquent,  of  a  commanding  ap- 
pearance, and  speaking  fluently  several  languages. 
He  assumed  the  priestly  rights,  administered  the 
sacraments,  celebrated  marriages,  and  the  populace, 
excited  by  his  appeals  to  rebellion,  put  to  death  the 
clergymen,  whether  regular  or  secular,  who  were  im- 
prudent enough  to  wander  through  the  rural  districts. 
Queen  Blanche  began  by  taking  the  Pastoiireaux  v^wd^&x 
her  protection,  and  even  held  a  conference  with  the 
Master  of  Hungary  ;  but  this  mistaken  kindness  did 
not  last  long,  and  the  terrible  scenes  which  occurred 
at  Orleans  opened  her  eyes  to  the  necessity  of  dealing 
severely  with  the  rebels.  The  master  had  been  holding 
forth  to  a  large  assembly,  when  a  student  of  the  uni- 
versity interrupted  him,  saying  that  he  was  a  heretic 
and  a  deceiver;  a  tumult  immediately  arose,  the 
student  was  killed,  and  a  general  niclcc  K.ook  place  ;  the 
bishop  interdicted  the  city.  The  Pastoureaux  then 
continued  their  march  southwards  ;  at  Bourges  they 
met  with  the  first  severe  check  they  had  encountered, 
and  were  driven  out  of  the  city  by  the  infuriated 
inhabitants.      The  Master  of  Hungary  was  pursue  1 


I08  THE   PASTOUREAUX. 

and  put  to  death.  The  extraordinary  enthusiasm 
which  they  had  excited  in  the  first  instance  subsided 
almost  as  suddenly.  The  fact  is  that  the  clergy 
spread  abroad  a  report  to  the  effect  that  the  Pas- 
to7ireaux  were  paid  by  the  Sultan  of  Babylon  to 
slaughter  as  many  Christians  as  they  could  ;  on  the 
other  hand,  it  was  asserted,  with  perhaps  more  truth, 
that  the  revolutionists  were  Albigenses,  and  that  a 
fresh  effort  was  being  made  to  revive  a  damnable 
heresy.  At  any  rate,  the  collapse  was  complete  ;  a 
number  who  had  made  their  way  as  far  as  Bordeaux 
had  to  retire  under  the  threats  of  Simon  de  Montfort, 
Earl  of  Leicester,  who  governed  there  in  the  name  of 
the  King  of  England  ;  others  went  to  Marseilles,  and 
then  dispersed,  not  without  leaving  some  of  their  adhe- 
rents in  the  power  of  the  common  hangman,  who 
made  them  pay  for  the  rest. 

The  rebellion  of  the  Pastonrcaux  helped  to  hasten 
the  return  of  Saint  Louis  from  Palestine.  On  arriving 
in  Paris  he  promised  to  devote  the  remainder  of  his 
reign  to  the  better  administration  of  justice,  and  to 
the  reforms  which  the  state  of  the  kingdom  rendered 
absolutely  necessary. 


VI. 


SAINT  LOUIS  ;  END  OF  THE  REIGN — LITERATURE, 
ARTS,  AND  SCIENCES  DURING  THE  THIRTEENTH 
CENTURY. 

(1 254-1  270.) 

The  reforms  made  by  Louis  IX.  were  of  so  impor- 
tant a  character  and  led  to  such  weighty  consequences 
that  they  require  to  be  examined  a  Httle  in  detail. 
Let  us  notice,  in  the  first  place,  the  suppression  of 
judicial  duels — a  strange  institution  which  placed 
right  at  the  mercy  of  skill  and  physical  strength  ; 
this  was  merely  an  extension  of  Zrt  Qiuirantaiiie-k-roi, 
and  it  was  universally  welcome.  Another  most  note- 
worthy change  must  be  mentioned.  According  to 
the  rules  of  feudal  society,  every  lord  and  baron  ad- 
ministered justice  within  the  limits  of  his  own  domains, 
appeal  being  allowable  to  the  suzerain  :  (i)  If  the 
baron  refused  to  render  justice  {dcfaut  de  droit)  ;  (2) 
when  the  condemned  person  thought  the  sentence 
unfair  {pour  faux  jugenieiif).  Louis  IX.  encouraged 
appeals  made  directly  to  the  Crown,  and  then  gradually 
the  baronial  courts  became  subordinate  to  that  of  the 
king.  The  cour  du  roi,  or  parliament,  under  various 
names  existed  in  France  from  the  earliest  days  of  the 


110  LAW  REFORMS. 

monarchy.  It  was  presided  over  by  the  king,  and 
consisted  of  the  peers  or  feudatories  of  the  Crown- 
Gradually  the  chief  officers  of  the  Crown  [Diuiistcriales 
doniini  regis),  such  as  the  chancellor,  the  bread-bearer 
{panetier),  the  butler  {boiiteil/er),  the  chamberlain, 
were  required  to  sit  with  the  peers,  notwithstanding 
the  complaints  made  by  these.  The  substitution  of 
written  evidence  instead  of  trial  by  combat  was  a 
further  reform,  and  lawyers  had  to  take  an  important 
part  in  the  work  done  by  the  avtr  du  7'oi ;  the  chief 
amongst  these  were  Pierre  des  Fontaines  and  Philippe 
de  Beaumanoir.  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  im- 
portance thus  given  to  written  texts  led  to  a  revival 
of  the  study  of  law  ;  already  in  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries  some  Italian  cities,  Bologna  in  par- 
ticular, had  become  celebrated  by  the  teaching  of  cer- 
tain lecturers  deeply  versed  in  the  mysteries  of  Roman 
jurisprudence,  and  Irnerius  saw  crowds  of  pupils 
attend  his  lessons.  Justinian  was  translated  into 
French  during  the  reign  of  Philip  Augustus,  and  law 
schools  were  opened  at  Montpellier,  Orleans,  and 
Angers.  Thus  science  joined  effectually  in  the  war 
against  feudalism,  and  Saint  Louis  authorized  in  Lan- 
guedoc  and  in  other  places  the  use  of  the  Roman  law 
by  preference  to  the  old  customs  and  traditions  of 
the  Franks,  the  Visigoths,  and  the  Burgundians. 

In  order  to  make  quite  sure  that  his  commands 
and  enactments  were  duly  carried  out,  Louis  IX.  was 
in  the  habit  of  sending  through  the  various  provinces 
visitors  who,  like  Charlemagne's  niissi  dominici,  had  to 
report  on  the  cases  of  injustice,  infringement  of  the 
laws,  &c.    High  social  position,  rank,  and  dignity  were 


LAW  REFORMS.  lit 

IneFfcctual  to  shield  an  offender  from  deserved  punish- 
ment. M.  Cheruel  ("  Dictionnaire  des  Institutions") 
mentions  two  remarkable  cases  which  illustrate  this 
fact.  Charles  d'Anjou,  the  king's  own  brother,  had 
taken  possession  of  a  piece  of  land  against  the  will 
of  the  original  owner,  promising  to  pay  the  full  value. 
He  was  obliged  to  restore  it.  The  Sire  de  Coucy  had 
caused  three  young  men  to  be  hanged  for  poaching. 
Notwithstanding  the  intervention  of  the  whole  baron- 
age of  France,  he  was  condemned  to  a  very  heavy 
fine.  It  was  only  in  the  case  of  Jews  and  heretics 
that  Louis  IX.  was  unrelentingly  severe.  "No  one," 
said  he,  "  should  discuss  with  Jews  unless  he  is  a  great 
clerk  and  a  perfect  theologian  ;  but  when  a  layman 
hears  the  Christian  faith  evil  spoken  of,  he  should 
defend  it  not  only  with  words,  but  with  a  sharp- 
cutting  sword,  which  he  should  thrust  through  the 
miscreant's  body  as  far  as  it  will  go." 

The  work  of  Joinville  contains  two  passages  which 
have  become  classical,  and  which  we  shall  quote  here 
as  illustrating  most  admirably  the  personal  part  which 
the  king  took  in  the  adininistration  of  justice  : 

"  The  king  had  his  task  arranged  in  such  manner 
that  My  Lord  de  Nesle  and  the  good  Count  of 
Soissons,  together  with  us  all  who  were  around  him, 
after  attending  mass,  used  to  go  and  hear  cases  tried 
at  the  court  of  requests.  And  on  returning  from 
church.  His  Majesty  would  sit  at  the  foot  of  his  bed, 
then  made  us  all  sit  around  him,  and  asked  us  whether 
there  was  any  case  to  be  settled  which  could  not  be 
settled  without  him  ;  we  accordingly  named  them  to 
him,  whereupon  he  sent  for  the  contending   parties 


ST.   LOUIS  AS   A    yUDGB.  113 

and  said  to  them  :  '  Why  do  you  not  take  what  our 
men  offer  to  you  ? '  Then  they  answered  :  *  Sire,  it  is 
because  they  offer  too  httle.'  Then  he  said:  'You 
ought  to  take  that  from  him  who  would  make  it  over 
to  you.'  And  the  holy  man  thus  worked  with  all  his 
might  to  keep  them  in  a  proper  and  peaceful  way." 

And  further  on  : 

"  Many  a  time  it  happened  that  in  summer  he 
would  go  and  sit  in  the  forest  of  Vincennes  after  mass, 
lean  against  an  oak,  and  bid  us  sit  around  him.  Then 
those  who  had  business  to  transact  came  to  speak  to 
him,  without  being  hindered  by  ushers  or  any  other 
people.  He  then  asked  with  his  own  lips  :  '  Is  there 
any  one  here  who  has  a  suit  ? '  Then  those  who  had, 
rose,  and  he  said  :  '  Be  silent,  all  of  you,  and  you  shall 
be  heard  one  after  another.'  Then  he  called  my  Lord 
Pierre  de  Fontaine  and  my  Lord  Geoffroi  de  Villette, 
and  said  to  one  of  them  :  '  Despatch  me  that  case.' 
And  when  he  saw  aught  to  amend  in  the  words  of 
those  who  spoke  for  him,  or  in  the  words  of  those 
who  spoke  on  behalf  of  others,  he  himself  corrected  it 
with  his  own  lips.  In  order  to  despatch  the  cases,  I 
have  often  seen  him  come  into  the  Paris  gardens 
dressed  in  a  camlet  coat  with  an  overcoat  of  woollen 
stuff  without  sleeves,  a  cloak  of  black  taffetas  fastened 
round  his  neck,  neatly  combed,  having  no  cap,  but 
merely  a  hat  with  white  peacock's  feathers  on  his 
head.  He  had  carpets  spread  out  for  us  to  sit  upon, 
and  all  those  who  had  business  for  him  to  settle  stood 
around  him,  and  he  heard  the  various  cases  according 
to  the  fashion  I  have  mentioned  above  in  the  wood  of 
Vincennes." 


il4  ROADS — COINAGE. 

It  will  seem  astonishin^^,  perhaps,  that  in  this  long 
account  of  French  jurisprudence  during  the  reign  of 
Louis  IX.,  we  have  said  nothing  of  the  code  of  laws 
known  by  the  name  of  "  Etablissements  de  Saint 
Louis."  The  fact  is  that  this  document,  important 
as  it  may  be  from  a  certain  point  of  view,  has  no 
character  of  authenticity,  and  the  anonymous  person 
or  persons  who  compiled  it  gave  it  the  designation  by 
which  it  is  known,  merely  to  secure  for  it  as  much 
popularity  as  possible.  Many  reasons  might  be 
adduced  to  prove  that  it  does  not  belong  to  the  reign 
of  Louis  IX.,  and  the  date  assigned  to  it  (1269)  is 
amply  sufficient  to  show  the  mistake  of  historians  who 
still  consider  it  as  a  monument  of  the  holy  king's 
legislative  talents.  It  is  not  likely  that,  on  the  eve  of 
starting  for  the  Crusade,  he  could  have  found  leisure 
enough  to  discuss  matters  of  jurisprudence  which  are 
both  complicated  and  difficult  to  settle. 

The  high  roads  had  become  much  safer  in  conse- 
quence of  the  abolition  of  private  warfare,  and  also 
because  e^^ery  person  was  made  responsible  for  the 
police  of  the  highways  within  the  limits  of  his  domains. 
In  Paris  the  king  instituted  a  special  body  of  armed 
police  (1254),  called  the  giie.t  j'oy  a  I,  Sind  consisting  of 
twenty  foot  and  twenty  horse  sergeants.  It  was  com- 
manded by  an  officer  styled  the  chevalier  du  gitet 
(Lat.  miles  gneti). 

The  first  general  rule  on  the  French  coinage  was 
established  in  1265.  Ihe  king  asserted  his  right  of 
allowing  the  royal  currency  to  circulate  throughout  the 
realm,  and  he  prohibited  the  barons  from  coining  gold 
pieces.     This  decree  favoured    in    a  notable  way  the 


TRADE   AND   INDUSTRY.  1x5 

development  of  commerce  and  industry,  for  the  reason 
that  the  king's  money  being  of  the  right  weight  and 
value,  it  soon  superseded  the  baronial  coinage.  The 
nomination  of  Estienne  Boisleve  (or  Boileau)  as  Pro- 
vost of  Paris,  turned  out  to  be  also  an  excellent 
measure.  He  drew  up  under  the  title  of  "  Livre  des 
metiers  "  the  statutes  and  laws  which  had  at  various 
times  been  fixed  by  the  guilds  or  corporations  of 
tradesmen  and  artificers,  and  he  did  so  in  order  that 
in  case  of  lawsuits  and  discussions  there  might  be  a 
text-book  to  which  the  contending  parties  could 
appeal.  From  that  curious  document  we  know  what 
the  professions  and  trades  were  which  during  the 
thirteenth  century  gave  employment  to  the  greatest 
number  of  hands.  Armourers,  of  course,  held  the 
foremost  rank  ;  some  workmen  exclusively  forged  the 
spurs ;  others  devoted  themselves  to  adorn  with 
heraldic  devices  the  various  parts  of  the  dress,  trap- 
pings, &c.  T\\Q.  Jieauniicrs,  flccJiiers,  and  arbalestriers 
dealt  respectively  in  helmets,  arrows,  and  cross-bows  ; 
then  there  was  the  more  peaceful  but  highly  fashion- 
able guild  of  merchant- furriers,  whose  wares  excited 
an  admiration  bordering  upon  madness :  "  Pelles 
castorum  {heavers)  et  marturum  {martins)  quae  nos 
admiratione  sui  dementes  faciunt."  Each  corporation 
had  its  appointed  shops  or  stalls  in  the  market-places, 
and  the  general  aspect  produced  a  picturesque  and 
varied  sight.  A  contemporary  poet  describes  to  us 
in  the  following  lively  manner  his  walk  through  one 
of  these  gatherings  of  tradesmen  and  artisans  : 

"  Au  bout  par  de9a  regratiers 
Trouve  barbiers  et  cervoisiers. 


II 6  TRADE   AND   INDUSTRY, 

Taverniers  et  puis  tapissiers  ; 
Assez  pres  d'eux  sont  les  merciers. 
A  la  cute  du  grand  cheniin 
Est  la  foire  du  parchemin  ; 
Et  apres  trouvai  les  pourpoints.  .  .  . 
Puis  la  grande  pelleterie.  .  .  . 
Puis  m'en  revins  en  une  plaine, 
La  oil  Ton  vend  cuirs  crus  et  luine  ; 
M'en  vins  par  la  feronerie  ; 
Apres  trouvai  la  baterie, 
Cordouaniers  et  boureliers, 
Selliers  et  fremiers  et  cordiers." 

"  At  the  end,  beyond  the  (stalls  of)  the  retail  grocers 
I  found  the  barbers  and  dealer  in  beer, 
The  eating-houses  and  upholsterers'  shops  ; 
Near  them  are  the  mercers. 
By  the  highway  side 
Is  the  parchment  fair  ; 

Then  I  found  tlie  jackets  (jacket-makers,  tailors), 
Then  the  dealers  in  furs.  .  ,  . 
Then  I  returned  by  a  plain, 
Where  is  sold  raw  leather  and  wool ; 
I  came  next  the  quarters  of  the  ironmongers  ; 
Then  I  found  the  coppersmiths, 
Shoemakers,  and  dealers  in  horse-hair, 
Saddle-makers,  farmers,  and  rope-makers." 

It  would  take  us  too  long  to  go  through  the  whole 
list.  Fairs  played,  of  course,  a  great  part  in  the 
history  of  mediaeval  commerce.  The  principal  French 
ones  were  those  held  at  Falaisse  {foire  de  Guibray) 
in  Champagne,  and  at  Saint  Denis,  near  Paris  {foire 
du  Landit,  or  Leiidit).  I'he  origin  of  this  last  name  is 
as  follows:  in  1109  a  supposed  fragment  of  the  true 
cross  having  been  brought  to  Paris,  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese  ordered  a  meeting  {indictuin,  hence  L'indity  and 
by  corruption  Landit)  to  be  held  in  the  plain  of 
Saint  Denis,  so  that  the  people  might  come  to  look 


ADMINISTRATION  AND   GOVERNMENT.  II7 

at  the  relic.  In  course  of  time  the  indictum  became 
an  annual  fair,  which  lasted  several  days,  and  led  to  so 
much  disorder,  owing  to  the  presence  of  the  scholars 
belonging  to  the  Paris  University,  that  in  Jean  de 
Meung's  continuation  of  the  "  Roman  de  la  Rose,"  we 


SEAL  OF   I.OUIS   IX. 


find  the  substantive  Landit  used   in   the   sense  of  a 
drunken  bout. 

To  conclude  these  remarks  on  the  administration 
of  Louis  IX.,  and  the  general  character  of  his  govern- 
ment, we  would  say  that  the  accession  of  the  third 


Il8      FOUNDATIONS'  CREATED   BY  SaINT  LOUIS. 

estate  to  power  dates  from  his  reign.  He  granted,  it 
is  true,  a  (ew  communal  charters,  but  municipal  inde- 
pendence pleased  him  as  little  as  feudalism,  and  he 
\  encouraged  as  much  as  he  could  the  transformation  of 
the  communes  into  "  royal  cities,"  which  depended 
upon  the  Crown,  whilst  they  were  governed  by  mayors, 
councillors,  and  other  magistrates  elected  by  the 
burghers.  Thanks  to  this  interference  of  the  king, 
France  escaped  the  danger  of  falling  into  the  anarchy 
which  was  for  so  many  centuries  the  curse  of  Italy, 
leaving  it  a  prey  to  the  ambition  and  intrigues  of  the 
Emperors  of  Germany. 

Saint  Louis  endowed  Paris  with  sev^eral  foundations, 
some  of  which  still  subsist,  and  have  rendered  much 
service  ;  we  shall  name  only  two  here,  viz.,  the  Hos- 
pital of  the  Quin::e-vingts  and  the  Sorboniie.  The 
former  of  these  establishments  was  created  in  1254, 
for  the  reception  of  three  hundred  gentlemen  (15  x  20) 
who  had  lost  their  eyes  during  the  Crusade  through 
the  cruelty  of  the  Saracens  ;  it  is  now  one  of  the  best 
known  hospitals  in  Paris. 

With  reference  to  the  Sorbonne,  it  was  one  of  the 
earliest  colleges  connected  with  the  University  of 
Paris,  having  been  founded  in  1202  by  the  king's 
confessor,  Robert  Sorbon  or  de  Sorbonne,  thus  called 
from  the  village  of  Sorbonne,  his  native  place.  It 
became  in  course  of  time  an  exclusively  theological 
school,  and  obtained  such  reputation  that  the  historian 
Mezeray,  who  flourished  during  the  seventeenth 
century,  styles  it  Le  concile  permanent  des  Ganles. 

The  firm  attitude  which  Saint  Louis  preserved  to- 
wards the  Papacy  has  caused  him  to  be  regarded  as 


SAhXT  LOUIS   STARTS   FOR   ANOTHER    CRUSADE.  II9 

the  author  of  a  deed  called  the  Praginatiqnesanction, 
which  asserts  the  liberties  of  the  Gallican  Church,  and 
guarantees  the  free  election  within  the  limits  of  the 
realm  of  France  of  all  bishops,  archdeacons,  preben- 
daries, canons,  and  other  dignitaries  of  the  Church. 
The  authenticity,  however,  of  this  document  is  now 
generally  discarded,  and  only  ignorance  or  prejudice 
can  ascribe  the  slightest  weight  to  it. 

The  good  king,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  administra- 
tive reforms,  had  never  forgotten  the  claims  of  the 
Christians  in  the  East  on  the  sympathy  of  their 
Prankish  brethren,  and  in  1270  he  determined  to 
start  for  another  Crusade.  On  this  occasion  the 
Seneschal  of  Champagne  flatly  refused  to  follow  him. 
"  Those  who  advised  him  to  start,"  says  Joinville, 
"  committed  a  great  sin,  considering  the  extreme 
weakness  of  his  body,  for  he  could  bear  neither  the 
motion  of  a  vehicle  nor  that  of  a  horse.  His  weak- 
ness was  so  great  that  he  allowed  me  to  carry  him 
in  my  arms  from  the  hotel  of  the  Count  of  Auxerre, 
where  I  took  leave  of  him,  to  the  convent  of  the 
Franciscan  friars  {Cordeliers),  and,  weak  as  he  was,  if 
he  had  only  remained  in  France,  he  might  have  lived 
long  enough  and  done  many  good  works.  About  his 
voyage  to  Tunis  I  shall  neither  say  nor  relate  any- 
thing, for,  thank  God,  I  was  not  there,  and  I  will  not 
say  or  write  in  my  book  anything  of  which  I  am  not 
certain."  Saint  Louis  died  under  the  walls  of  Tunis 
on  the  25th  of  August,  1270,  and  after  an  interval  of 
twenty  years  the  Crusaders  had  to  retire  from  the 
Holy  Land. 

Whilst  these  things  were  going  on  in  Egypt  and  in 


I20  LITERATURE. 

Palestine,  Charles  of  Anjou,  brother  to  the  King  of 
France,  had  accepted  from  Pope  Urban  IV.,  as  a  fief, 
the  kingdom  of  Sicily  (Naples  and  Sicily),  which 
Manfred  had  usurped,  to  the  prejudice  of  his  nephew 
Conradin  still  young.  He  marched  into  Italy  at  the 
head  of  an  army  of  French  and  Provencal  knights, 
was  crowned  king  at  Rome  on  the  6th  of  January, 
1266,  and  gained,  on  the  26th  of  February  following, 
the  Battle  of  Beneventum.  To  this  expedition  can 
be  traced  the  pretentions  raised  from  time  to  time 
b\'  the  French  Crown  to  the  kingdom  of  two  Sicilies. 
The  progress  of  literature  and  the  fine  arts  during 
the  thirteenth  century  must  now  engage  our  atten- 
tion, and  we  find  there,  as  well  as  in  questions  of 
politics,  results  which  deserve  to  be  described  some- 
what in  detail.  If  we  turn,  first,  to  literature  properly 
called,  the  two  names  of  Villehardouin  and  Join- 
ville  stand  pre-eminent  amongst  prose  writers,  and  the 
merits  of  him  who  wrote  "  Conqueste  de  Constanti- 
noble"  appear  the  more  conspicuous  ifwe  compare  him 
with  his  dull  continuator  Henri  de  Valenciennes.  In 
the  walks  of  poetry  we  have  to  notice  a  period  of 
decay  so  far  as  the  romances  of  chivalry  {cJiansons  dc 
gcste)  are  concerned  ;  the  age  of  enthusiasm  is  gone, 
and  the  trouvcres  have  lost  their  originality.  In  a 
previous  chapter  we  have  attempted  a  classification  of 
the  principal  subjects  treated  by  the  poets  who  aimed 
at  describing  the  high  deeds  of  ajicient  heroes  ;  we 
shall  now  consider  separately  the  cycle  of  CJiarlemagne 
which  is  the  most  decidedly  French  of  the  three. 
For  the  sake  of  clearness  it  may  be  subdivided  into 
three  minor  gestes.     i,  GiSte  du  Roi,  where  the  glory  of 


**  CHANSONS  DE   GESTE.'*  121 

Roland  casts  into  the  shade  even  that  of  Charlemagne. 
2.  Ges^e  dc  Gar  in  de  Moutglane,  the  hero  of  which  is 
Guillaume  au  Cort-nez,  who  won  the  Battle  of  Alis- 
camps.     3.  The  geste  de  Boon  de  Mayence,  taken  up  by 
the  exploits  of  Renaud  de  Montauban  and  Ogicr  le 
Danois.     Besides  these  three  great  branches  or  series 
of  poems,  we  must  not  forget  several  smaller  ^^i-^^j, 
such  as  the  cycle  de  la  Croisade  [Chanson  d'Antioche), ' 
\\\Q geste  dcs  Lorrains  (Garin  le  Lohcrain),  the  geste  de 
Blaives  {Amis  et  A  mile),  &c.,  &c.     The  peculiarity  of 
the  tronvhres  of  the  thirteenth  century  was  that,  instead 
of  composing  original  poems,  they  were  satisfied  for 
the  most  part  wnth  remodelling  old  compositions  and 
clothing  them  with  new  dresses.     Thus  Graindor  of 
Douai,   taking    Richard    the   Pilgrim   as  his  pattern, 
recast  the  "  Chanson  d'Antioche  ;  "  thus,  again,  Jean 
Bodel    wrote    "  Chanson    des    Saisnes "  (Saxons)    or 
"Guiteclin  (Witikind)  de  Sassoigne  "  (Saxony)  from 
an  old  poem  ;  Adenes  le  roi,  so  called  because  he  was 
"  King  of  the  Minstrels,"  modernized  also  "Berthe  aus 
grands  pies,"  "  Beuves  de  Comarchis,"  and  "  Les  en- 
fances  Ogier."     Amongst  what  may  be  called  the  ori- 
ginal romances    of   the    thirteenth    century  we    may 
name  Jacques  Forest's  "  Roman  de  Jules  Cesar/'  the 
"Roman    du  bel  ecu,"  or  "  Fregus  et  Galienne'^    by 
Guillaume  de  Normandie,  Pyram's  "  Parthenopex  de 
Blois,  Gilbert  de  Montreuil's  "  Roman  de  la  Violette  " 
imitated  by  Boccaccio  and  from  which  Shakespeare 
borrowed  the  story  of  Cymbeline;  Adenes  le  roi  wrote 
the  romaunt  of"  Cleomades,"  and,  to  complete  this  long 
list,  we  may  mention  "  Floire  et  Blanceflor,"  the  work 
of  an  author  whose  name  is  not  exactly  known. 


122 


ROMAN   DE   LA   ROSE. 


The  poem,  however,  with  which  the  thirteenth 
century  in  its  decline  must  ever  be  chiefly  associated 
is  the  famous  "Roman  de  la  Rose,"  begun  by  Guillaume 
de  Lorris  about  1262,  and  finished  by  Jean  de  Meung 
about  1305.  The  former  part  of  the  work  is  an  ex- 
traordinary association  of  mystic  tenderness  and  of 
coarse  sensuality,  of  chivalrous  gallantry  and  of  scho- 
lastic subtlety  ;  the  latter  half  breathes  the  spirit  of 
keen  satire  together  with  longings  after  a  reformation 
which,  if  Jean  Meung  had  had  his  way,  would  have 
been  of  the  most  sweeping  character. 


TROUBADOURS. 

The  voice  of  the  troudadour  no  longer  resounded  ; 
Tonsons,  Sirventes,  plan/is,  atibades  were  gone  for 
ever,  and  at  the  time  immcdiatel}' preceding  the  reign 
of  Louis  IX.  the  principal  monument  of  Langucdoc 
literature  was  a  long-rhymed  chronicle  which  has 
lately  been  published,  and  which  was  the  work  of  two 
distinct  poets  ;  the  first  part,  composed  between  12 10 
and  1213,  is  directed  against  the  Albigenses ;  the 
second,  to  which  the  date  of  12 18  or  12 19  can  be 
assigned,   is    inspired,   on    the    contrary,    by    intense 


RUTEBEUF — MARIE   DE   FRANCE.  I23 

hatred   of  the   Crusaders,   and  is  fairly  entitled  to  be 
called  a  poem. 

If  we  were  to  enumerate  all  the  troiiveres  who 
flourished  during  the  reign  of  Saint  Louis  we  should  be 
drawn  far  beyond  the  limits  of  this  chapter.  Rute- 
beuf,  the  genuine  precursor  of  Villon,  must  be  named, 
however,  amongst  the  most  distinguished  ;  his  style  is 
elegant  and  natural,  full  of  imagination,  pathos,  and 
genuine  sentiment.  The  lays  and  fabliaux,  whether 
anonymous  or  assignable  to  well-known  authors,  may 
be  defined  as  miniature  romaunts  or  tales  characterized 
chiefly  by  the  spirit  of  satire,  and  not  unfrequently  by 
a  vis  coinica  bordering  upon  coarseness  ;  the  name  of 
Marie  de  France  must  ever  be  associated  with  these 
compositions,  and  if  she  had  written  nothing  but  the 
"  Lay  du  Frene  "  (containing  the  germ  of  the  touching 
story  Q){  Griselidii)  and  the  "  Ysopet  "  (a  collection  of 
fables  imitated  from  classical  antiquity),  she  would  still 
deserve  not  to  be  forgotten.  The  pretty  story  of  "  Au- 
cassin  and  Nicolette"isone  ofthe  gems  of  thirteenth-cen- 
tury literature,  but  thebest  known  of  all  the  compositions 
belonging  to  that  time  is  undoubtedly  the  "  Roman  de 
Renart,"  which  is  claimed  by  Germany  and  the  Nether- 
lands as  well  as  by  France,  and  which  with  its  nume- 
rous branches  and  subdivisions  is  the  embodiment  of 
the  satirical  tendency  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  days 
of  chivalry  are  gone,  and  instead  of  Charlemagne, 
Turpin,  Oliver  and  Roland,  Ogier,  Naime,  and  Huon, 
we  find  ourselves  summoned  before  an  assembly  of 
animals,  where  the  chief  parts  are  taken  by  the  lion 
{Noble),  the  fox  {Renard),  the  woM [Ysoigriji),  the  bear 
{Brim),  the  wild  boar  {Beaiicent),  &.c.     The  triumph 


124  ^^^   DRAMA. 

of  cunning  over  brute  force  and  of  hypocrisy  over 
violence  forms  the  subject-matter  of  tlie  "  Roman  de 
Renart  ;"  it  runs  through  the  works  of  Gauthier  de 
Coinsy  and  the  innumerable  Bibles,  castoienients^  and 
dits  which  the  erudite  authorities  of  the  "  Histoire 
Litteraire  de  la  France  "  have  so  carefully  analysed. 

Suppose  now  we  take  one  of  the  poems  just  enu- 
merated, suppose,  instead  of  a  consecutive  narrative, 
we  introduce  each  of  the  dramatis  personce,  telling  his 
story  and  expressing  his  own  opinions,  we  have  im- 
mediately the  drama  under  its  twofold  manifestations 
of  sacred  {tnysteres  and  nioralites)  and  secular  {farces). 
The  mysteries  were  dramatized  episodes  of  the  Bible 
and  of  the  legends  of  the  saints,  the  principal,  besides 
the  "Mystere  de  la  Passion,"  being  that  of  Saint  Nicolas 
by  Jean  Bodel,  a  native  of  Arras,  whom  we  have  already 
mentioned  ;  the  earliest  comedy  or  farce  deserving  to 
be  named  is  the  "Jeu  de  la  feuillie,"  and  the  earliest 
comic  opera,  if  we  may  use  such  a  name,  is  the  "Jeu 
de  Robin  et  de  Marion,"  both  works  being  by  another 
native  of  Arras,  Adam  de  la  Halle,  surnamed  the 
hunchback  no  one  knows  wh}',  and  who  distinctly 
repudiated  a  sobriquet  for  which,  as  it  seems,  his 
personal  appearance  did  not  give  the  slightest  pre- 
text :  "  On  m'apcle  bochu^'  said  he,  "  mes  je  ne  le  sui 
mie." 

Between  the  essentially  lyric  poetry  of  the  trouba- 
dours and  the  decidedly  satirical  strain  of  the  trouvh'cs, 
we  find,  as  a  transition,  Thibaut,  Count  of  Champagne. 
Himself  a  pupil  of  the  troubadours,  and  like  them  an 
Epicurean  by  taste,  notorious  for  the  laxity  of  his 
morals  and  the  scandal  of  his  life  ;    he  shared  also 


THIBAUT  DB   CHAMPAGNE.  12$ 

their  freedom  of  thinking,  and  their  spirit  of  opposi- 
tion to  the  Church.  Bound  by  his  oath,  he  was  com- 
pelled to  ta]<e  a  part  in  the  crusade  against  the 
Albigenses,  and  to  fight  Raymond,  Count  of  Tou- 
louse ;  but  the  following  lines  prove  that  his  sympa- 
pathies  were  really  on  the  side  of  the  southern 
knights,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  find,  even  in 
Jean  de  Meung's  bold  poetry,  a  more  bitter  de- 
nunciation of  the  Holy  See  than  in  Thibaut  de 
Champagne's  sixty- fifth  song. 

"  Ce  est  des  clers  qui  ont  laisser  sermons 
Pour  guerroier  et  pour  tuer  les  gens, 
Jamais  en  Dieu  ne  fuit  tels  homs  creans. 
Nostra  chief  fait  tous  les  membres  doloir. 

Papelars  font  li  siecle  chanceler 

lis  ont  tolu  joie,  et  solas  et  pais, 
Sen  porteront  en  enfer  le  grant  fais." 

"  There  are  clerks  who  have  forsaken  sermons 
In  order  to  fi,;ht  and  to  kill  people. 
Such  men  never  did  believe  in  God. 
Our  head  (Innocent  III.)  makes  all  the  limbs  suffer. 
The  lollowers  of  the  Pope  cause  the  world  to  totter, 
They  have  carried  awny  joy,  and  solace,  and  peace, 
Therefore  they  shall  carrj-  to  hell  the  great  burden  (of  their  misdeeds)." 

We  cannot  belie\-e  that  so  strict  a  king  as  St.  Louis 
approved  all  the  sentiments  of  the  poets  who  were 
his  contemporaries  ;  at  the  same  time  he  granted 
valuable  privileges  to  the  minstrels,  jugglers,  and 
other  members  of  the  brotherhood,  and  particularly 
exempted  them  from  pa)'ing  toll  at  the  bridges.  The 
minstrels  in  lieu  thereof  might  treat  the  collector  to  a 
tune  or  a  song,  and  the  juggler  might  make  his  mon- 


126  PULPIT  ELOQUENCE. 

key  cut  a  caper  or  two.  The  well-known  French 
proverb,  "  Payer  en  monnaie  de  singe  "  (=  to  deceive 
a  person  by  false  promises),  has  arisen  from  that 
ancient  custom. 

The  various  branches  of  literature  we  have  thus 
been  considering  are  French  exclusively — French  by 
the  form  in  which  they  are  expressed,  and  by  the 
inspiration  under  which  they  were  written.  If  we 
now  come  to  a  more  serious  topic,  to  pulpit  eloquence, 
we  still  find  the  vernacular  language  used,  although 
monuments  are  very  scarce  and  very  imperfect.  It 
was  natural  that  preachers  should  retain  in  their 
sermons  what  may  be  called  the  ecclesiastical  idiom, 
and  that  they  should  bestow  upon  Latin  discourses 
most  of  their  care  and  attention  ;  but  they  remem- 
bered that  if  often  they  had  to  preach  ad  clcros,  their 
audiences  consisted  more  frequently  still  of  common 
and  iUiterate  people,  who  could  not  have  understood 
them  if  they  had  used  the  language  of  the  Church  ; 
we  are  therefore  led  to  adopt  the  opinion  arrived  at 
by  several  learned  historians,  to  wit  (i)  that  all  the 
sermons  addressed  to  the  faithful,  even  those  written 
in  Latin,  were  preached  entirely  in  French ;  (2)  that 
the  sermons  intended  for  the  clergy  were,  generally, 
preached  in  Latin.  Maurice  de  Sully,  Bishop  of 
Paris,  who  died  in  1196,  composed  a  set  of  sermons 
intended  to  be  a  manual  or  guide  for  the  priests  of 
his  diocese  ;  it  is  written  in  Latin,  being  in  the  first 
instance  meant  as  a  kind  of  authorized  book,  to  be 
emplo)'ed  by  those  who  had  no  talent  or  leisure  for 
original  composition  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  pre- 
late expressly  directed  that  these  sermons  should  be 


CHURCH   ARCHITECTURE.  127 

addressed  to  the  whole  congregation  of  faithful,  and 
accordingly,  as  the  final  clauses  of  two  MSS.  expressly 
state,  they  were  to  be  read  in  French.  We  have  the 
authority  of  the  chronicler,  Humbert  de  Romans,  to 
state  that  the  early  Dominican  friars,  even  those  of 
German  origin,  preached  in  that  language,  and  one 
of  them,  Jourdain  of  Saxony,  holding  forth  to  a 
congregation  of  knights  in  Palestine,  after  having 
apologized  for  his  imperfect  knowledge  of  French, 
made  frequent  use  of  German  words  and  phrases. 
The  custom  of  thus  intermixing  the  vernacular  idioms 
with  Latin  gradually  gained  ground,  and  led  in  course 
of  time  to  the  macaronic  style  which  characterizes  the 
sermons  of  Michel  Menot  and  Olivier  Maillard. 

The  transition  from  pulpit  eloquence  to  church 
architecture  is  a  natural  one,  and  we  are  thus  led  to 
consider  the  state  of  the  fine  arts  during  the  reign  of 
Louis  IX.  It  may  be  said  that  the  renovation  of 
church  architecture  took  place  shortly  after  the  year 
looo.  Up  to  that  time,  in  the  construction  of  sacred 
buildings,  nothing  more  was  aimed  at  but  the  imitation 
of  the  ancient  basi/ica.  No  sooner  was  the  Christian 
world  delivered  from  the  terrors  of  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, which  so  many  had  proclaimed  as  about  to  be 
ushered  in  with  the  eleventh  century,  than,  as  if  it  had 
been  through  a  desire  of  expressing  substantial  grati- 
tude to  the  Deity,  the  whole  population  set  about 
erecting  cathedrals,  parish  churches,  abbeys,  and 
monasteries.  From  the  school  of  Cluny,  and  other 
similar  establishments,  came  forth  architects  of  the 
greatest  merit,  and  the  Gothic  style  of  construction 
made  its  first  appearance.     The  principal  cathedrals 


SAINT  WULFRAN,   k  ABBEVILLE. 


NOIRE   DAME   OF   PARIS. 


130  THE   FINE   ARTS. 

belonging  to  that  epoch  are  those  of  Chartres,  Bourges, 
Amiens,  Paris,  and  Rouen  ;  nor  must  we  forget  the 
Sainte  Chapelle,  one  of  the  most  elegant  specimens 
of  Gothic  architecture  which  the  metropolis  of  France 
can  boast  of. 

It  has  often  been  noticed  that  what  may  be  called 
lav  or  secular  architecture  followed  closely  the  same 
type  as  the  one  adopted  for  the  erection  of  churche., ; 
the  reason  for  this  is  twofold.  In  the  first  place, 
religious  establishments  held  the  foremost  rank  in  the 
social  order  ;  and,  secondly,  the  monks  alone  being 
architects,  painters,  sculptors,  and  decorators,  they 
could  scarcely  help  introducing  in  the  economy  of 
secular  buildings  the  usual  way  they  had  of  drawing 
a  plan,  and  carrying  out  its  execution.  The  art  of 
sculpture  and  that  of  painting  made  considerable 
progress  in  France  during  the  thirteenth  century. 
M.  Viollet  le  Due  tells  us  that  so  far  as  drawing  is 
concerned,  together  with  the  correct  observation  of 
movement,  composition,  and  even  expression,  the 
French  artists  cast  off  the  trammels  of  conven- 
tionalism long  before  the  Italian  ones.  "  The  paint- 
ings and  vignettes  which  the  thirteenth  century  has 
bequeathed  to  us  are  the  proof  of  that  fact,  and  fifty 
years  previous  to  Giotto,  we  had  amongst  us  painters 
who  had  already  realized  the  progress  ascribed  to  the 
pupil  of  Cimabue.  From  the  twelfth  century  to  the 
fifteenth  drawing  becomes  modified  ;  fettered  at  first 
by  the  traditions  of  Byzantine  art,  it  begins  by  shaking 
off  those  rules  of  a  particular  school;  without  abandon- 
ing style,  it  looks  for  principles  derived  from  the 
observation  of   nature.     The   study  of  gesture   soon 


MUSIC.  131 

attains  to  a  rare  delicacy,  then  comes  a  search  after 
what  is  called  expression.  .  .  .  As  early  as  the  second 
half  of  the  thirteenth  century  we  recognize  striking 
efforts  of  composition  ;  the  dramatic  idea  finds  its 
place,  and  some  of  the  scenes  betray  powerful  energy." 
Mural  and  decorative  painting  had  more  difficulties 
to  contend  with,  but  they  also  showed  decided  pro- 
gress. 

The  influence  of  the  Church  could  not  but  be  much 
felt  in  music,  and  when  we  speak  of  that  art,  as  it 
flourished  during  the  Middle  Ages,  we  must  be  under- 
stood to  refer  to  plain  chant,  motets,  hymns,  and  in 
general  to  psalmody.     Modern  music  may  be  said  to 
have  sprung  into  existence  when   Gothic  architecture 
had  attained  its  perfection  ;    and  it  would  have  been 
strange  if  Saint  Louis,  so  anxious  to  have  Divine  ser- 
"vice  celebrated  with  all  possible  perfection,  had  not 
given  his  attention  to  music.     The  names  of  se\-eral 
organists    have  been    handed   down    to    us,  and    the 
cathedral  church  of  Notre  Dame  in  Paris  claims  the 
most  celebrated  amongst  them  ;    Leonin,  for  instance, 
and    Perotin,      The    king    did   not   care    for    secular 
music,    and    whilst    most    of  the    high    barons    had 
minstrels  as  part  of  their  household,   Louis  IX.  had 
none.       When     Marguerite     de     Provence     came    to 
Sens    on    her    coronation,    her    father    brought    with 
him    a    minstrel    and     six    troubadours  ;     these    did 
not    remain    at    Court,    but   at    the  same    time    they 
were    handsomely    remunerated,    and   on    the    state- 
ment of  expenses    made    for    the  occasion,   we    find 
]i2livres,  20  sols,  and   12  deniers  for  the  minstrels, 
together  with   10  livres  paid  to   the  minstrel  of   the 


132  INDUSTRIAL    ARTS. 

Count  de  Provence.  The  list  of  musical  instruments 
in  use  during  the  Middle  Ages  was  a  long  one  ;  be- 
sides the  organ,  t?ie  lyre,  and  the  harp,  we  find 
the  violin  {vielle,  rote,  rebec),  the  guitar  or  guiterne, 
the  doulcemer  {dukinier),  the  trumpet,  the  sackbut, 
the  drum,  &c.  The  nacaire  or  naqiiaire,  mentioned  by 
Joinville,  seems  to  have  been  a  kind  of  cymbal,  and 
the  dulcimer  very  like  our  piano. 

The  industrial  arts  claim  also  a  mention  here,  and 
as  a  matter  of  course  the  improvements  of  every  kind 
introduced  into  church  architecture  and  decoration, 
told  upon  carpentering,  carving,  the  "  craft  and 
mystery "  of  joiners,  goldsmiths,  silversmiths,  and 
blacksmiths.  Tombs,  relic-cases,  stalls,  lecterns, 
fonts,  incense-boxes,  candelabra,  crucifixes — ^in  fact, 
all  the  articles  used  for  ecclesiastical  purposes,  all 
the  monuments  belonging  to  the  church  were  exe- 
cuted with  a  degree  of  perfection  and  of  taste  which 
has  never  been  surpassed. 

In  conclusion,  the  thirteenth  century  marks  the 
most  brilliant  epoch  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  in  that 
epoch  the  reign  of  Saint  Louis  forms,  so  to  say, 
the  central  point.  After  the  death  of  that  glorious 
monarch,  decay  sets  in,  the  old  order  of  things  falls 
gradually  to  pieces,  and  to  the  prevalence  of  honour, 
courage,  loyalt)-,  and  self-sacrifice  succeeds  the 
triumph  of  insolence,  cowardice,  treachery,  avarice, 
and  selfishness. 


VII. 


PHILTP    TIL— PHILIP    IV. 

(1 270-1 3 14.) 

Why  Philip  III.  should  have  been  surnamed  "the 
Bold  "  {le  hardi)  it  would  be  difficult  to  say.  He  had 
inherited  the  meekness  and  the  piety  of  his  father,  but 
none  of  his  other  virtues,  and  the  contemporary 
chronicles  have  ver)'  little  to  say  about  him.  Charles 
de  Valois  was  the  French  prince  who  occupies  the 
stage  of  history  during  the  last  ^^\x  years  of  the 
thirteenth  century,  and  around  him  is  gathered  all 
the  interest  which  belongs  to  the  country  of  the 
fleurs-de-lys.  It  is  even  still  a  matter  of  doubt 
whether  Philip  knew  how  to  write  ;  at  any  rate,  his 
mind  absolutely  lacked  culture.  During  his  reign, 
however,  the  royal  power  went  on  acquiring  strength, 
and  fresh  provinces  were  added  to  the  kingdom  ;  in 
fact,  he  inherited  from  almost  every  member  of  his 
family.  The  death  of  his  brother,  Jean  Tristan, 
brought  to  him  the  province  of  Valois  ;  his  uncle 
Alphonso  left  to  him  nearly  the  whole  of  Southern 
France  :  Poitou,  Auvergne,  Toulouse,  Rouergue, 
Albigeois,  Ouercy,  Agenois,  Comtat  Venaissin  ; 
finally  he  got  possession  of  Navarre  by  marrying  his 


134  PHILIP  III. — CHARLES   D'ANJOU. 

son  Philip  to  the  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Cham- 
pagne, who  was  also  king  of  that  fertile  province.  It 
is  true  that  Agenois  was  restored  to  England,  and  the 
Comtat  to  the  Pope,  but  still  the  authority  of  the  new 
monarch  extended  over  nearly  all  the  country  com- 
prised between  the  Loire  and  the  Pyrenees,  and  a  few 
attempts  of  resistance  having  taken  place,  they  were 
speedily  put  down. 

Charles  d'Anjou,  as  we  have  already  said,  was  at 
that  time  the  real  French  king.  Count  of  Florence, 
King  of  Naples  and  Sicily,  a  Roman  senator,  imperial 
vicar  in  Tuscany,  lord  of  most  of  the  cities  in  Northern 
Italy,  he  might  have  been  satisfied  with  the  immense 
power  then  concentrated  in  his  hands.  The  political 
state  of  Europe  had  singularly  favoured  his  ambitious 
plans.  Germany  was  without  an  emperor  ;  Italy  was 
rent  asunder  by  the  feuds  between  the  Guelphs  and 
Ghibelines ;  a  dispute  on  points  of  doctrine  had 
separated  the  Eastern  from  the  Western  Church ;  and 
the  empire  of  Constantinople  was  threatened  as  the 
focus  of  a  dangerous  schism.  Charles  d'Anjou  took 
advantage  of  this  state  of  things  ;  he  aimed,  not  only 
at  being  Emperor  of  the  East,  but  at  taking  posses- 
sion of  Jerusalem  and  of  Egypt.  Such  exorbitant 
pretensions  could  not  be  tolerated,  and  even  Pope 
Gregory  X.  saw  the  necessity  of  stemming  the  torrent. 
He  contrived  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  between 
the  conflicting  factions  in  Italy,  secured  the  election 
of  Rodolph  of  Hapsburg  to  the  throne  of  Germany, 
and  put  an  end  to  the  schism  at  the  council  of  Lyons. 
When  he  died  Nicolas  III.,  his  successor,  adopted  the 
same  policy.    The  danger  thus  minimized  was  entirely 


THE   SICILIAN    VESPERS.  135 

removed  in  consequence  of  the  event  which  is  known 
as  the  Sicilian  Vespers.  A  Calabrian  physician,  lord  of 
the  island  of  Procida,  had  been  for  some  time  travel- 
ling about  for  the  purpose  of  stirring  up  enemies 
against  Charles  d'Anjou.  Having  secured  the  active 
co-operation  of  Don  Pedro,  King  of  Arragon,  he 
organized  a  conspiracy,  and  selected  Sicily  as  the  spot 
where  the  rising  was  to  take  place.  That  island, 
ground  down  by  the  tyranny  of  Charles,  drained  of 
its  financial  resources,  subjected  to  the  most  iniquitous 
system  of  taxation,  was  treated  with  insolence  by 
the  French,  who  took  every  oppor::unity  of  asserting 
their  superiority  over  the  wretched  inhabitants.  "  On 
Easter  Monday  (March  30,  1282)  the  population  of 
Palermo,  according  to  custom,  had  gathered  together 
for  the  purpose  of  attending  vespers  on  the  hill  of 
Monreale.  A  young  lady  of  noble  birth  was  in  the 
crowd,  accompanied  by  her  betrothed  lover  ;  a 
Frenchman  approaches  her,  charges  her  with  having 
weapons  concealed  under  her  clothes,  and  attempts 
to  search  her  in  the  most  indecent  manner.  He  is 
immediately  killed,  and  his  death  becomes  the  signal 
of  a  universal  massacre.  Measures  to  that  effect  had 
been  taken  beforehand,  the  houses  inhabited  by  the 
French,  for  instance,  were  all  marked  with  a  peculiar 
sign  during  the  previous  night.  No  one  escaped  who 
could  not  pronounce  the  letter  c  in  the  Italian 
fashion.  The  whole  of  Sicily  followed  the  example  of 
Palermo."  '  In  the  meanwhile  Don  Pedro,  accompanied 
by  Procida,  started  for  Sicily,  at  the  head  of  a  powerful 
fleet,  which  took  possession  of  the  Straits  of  Messina, 
'  I^ordier  and  Charton,  "  Histoire  de  France." 


IJO  PHILIP  III.    MAKES    WAR    WITH   SPAIN. 

Charles  d'Anjou  did  not  repose  much  confidence  In 
his  own  sailors  ;  he  raised  the  siege  of  Messina  which 
he  had  been  blockading,  and  crossed  over  to  Italy) 
having  to  suffer  the  humiliation  of  seeing  his  ships 
destroyed.  It  is  said  that  he  kept  biting  his  sceptre 
out  of  sheer  rage.  Finding  that  fortune  was  aban- 
doning him,  he  exclaimed,  "Grant,  O  my  God,  that 
the  descent  may  take  place  by  slow  steps  and  gently." 
After  several  prolonged  and  unhapp)- efforts  tocontinue 
the  struggle  Charles  d'Anjou  died  on  the  7th  of  Jan- 
uary, I285,declaringthat  "he  had  undertaken  the  enter- 
prise of  the  kingdom  of  Sicily  rather  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Holy  Church  than  for  his  own  private  advantage." 
His  uncle  now  dead,  Philip  III.  had  to  bear  the 
brunt  of  the  war  against  Spain,  and  to  avenge  the 
honour  of  the  Valois  family.  A  crusade  was  preached 
against  Spain,  and  the  King  of  France  crossed  the 
Pyrenees  at  the  head  of  a  splendid  army,  which  some 
historians  estimate  at  twenty  thousand  cavalry  and 
eighty  thousand  infantry  ;  a  powerful  fleet  coasting 
along  the  shore  was  to  keep  this  large  force  amjily 
supplied,  as  well  as  to  assist  it  in  case  of  need.  The 
town  of  Elne  taken  after  a  desperate  resistance, 
seemed  to  be  the  prelude  of  great  things  ;  but  the 
French  lost  two  months  in  besieging  Gcrona,  and 
when  that  place  had  capitulated,  the  invaders  were  so 
reduced  by  the  climate,  the  heat  and  pestilential 
diseases,  that  they  were  obliged  to  retrace  their  steps 
and  to  return  home.  Philip  had  just  time  to  reach 
Pcrpignan  before  he  died  (October  5,  1285).  His  Beet 
had  been  defeated,  and  a  week  after  the  death  of  the 
King  of  France,  Don  Pedro  occupied  Gerona. 


PIERRE  DE    LA    BROSSE.  I37 

Amongst  the  monuments  of  French  dramatic 
literature  during  the  Middle  Ages  there  is  one  which 
we  shall  mention  here,  not  on  account  of  any  merit 
it  possesses,  but  because  it  refers  to  an  extraordinary- 
incident  in  the  reign  of  Philip  III.  It  is  entitled 
"  Le  Jeu  de  Pierre  de  la  Broce,"  and  is  preceded  by  a 
coniplaintc  or  dirge  on  the  same  person.  Now,  Pierre 
de  la  Brosse,  belonging  to  a  very  humble  family,  had 
been  originally  barber  to  Philip  III.  Being  extremely 
clever,  ready-witted,  and  sharp,  he  contrived  to  gain 
the  confidence  of  his  master,  and  to  become  Prime 
Minister.  Philip  was  married  twice  ;  his  first  wife, 
Isabella  of  Arragon,  died  shortly  before  her  husband 
ascended  the  throne.  In  1274  he  took  as  his  consort 
Mary  of  Brabant,  and  the  following  year,  Louis,  the 
eldest  of  his  sons  by  Isabella,  having  died  of  poison, 
as  it  was  supposed,  Pierre  de  la  Brosse  managed  to 
persuade  the  king,  that  Mary  of  Brabant  was  guilty 
of  the  crime,  and  that  she  had  formed  the  plan  of 
despatching  in  like  manner  the  other  children,  in  order 
to  secure  the  throne  for  her  own  offspring.  Philip, 
of  course,  was  extremely  angry,  and  determined  upon 
having  his  wife  burnt  alive  ;  but  the  princes  of  the 
blood  and  the  chief  lords,  to  whom  he  communicated 
his  suspicions,  persuaded  him  not  to  act  too  rashly. 
Before  he  followed  out  his  intentions  he  should 
make  all  necessary  inquiries,  and  consult  some 
person  learned  in  sorcery  and  witchcraft.  They 
selected  a  nun  of  Nivelle,  in  Brabant,  the  dominions 
of  the  queen's  father,  and  sent  to  her  for  the  purpose 
of  consultation  the  Bishop  of  Dol  and  a  Knight- 
Templar.     "  Tell  from  me  to  the  king,"  answered  the 


138  MARY  OF  BRABANT. 

oracle,  "  that  he  must  not  believe  the  slanderous 
reports  circulated  about  his  wife  ;  for  she  is  f;ood 
and  loyal  both  towards  him  and  towards  all  his 
family,  and  her  heart  is  sincere."  Some  historians 
add  that  the  nun  went  on  to  say  that  the  young 
prince  had  been  poisoned  by  a  man  who  enjoyed 
the  king's  confidence.  No  other  but  Pierre  de  la 
Brosse  was  evidently  meant  by  this  designation. 

Whether  the  last  part  of  the  story  is  true  or  not, 
the  Prime  Minister  became  suspected  in  his  turn,  and 
soon  paid  the  penalty  of  his  misdeeds.  Mary  of 
Brabant  was  still  treated  as  if  she  was  guilty,  and 
confined  to  her  apartments.  The  Count  d'Artois, 
who  was  a  relation  both  of  the  king  and  of  the 
queen,  having  offered  to  maintain  her  innocence  in 
single  combat,  and  no  one  accepting  the  challenge 
she  re-appeared  in  public.  About  that  time  a  packet 
of  letters  was  delivered  to  the  king,  coming  from 
Spain  and  addressed  to  Pierre  de  la  Brosse  ;  on 
opening  it,  proof  was  found  that  the  Prime  Minister 
had  been  carrying  on  a  treasonable  correspondence, 
and  he  was  immediately  arrested  on  that  charge, 
tried  in  Paris,  and  condemned  to  be  hanged.  Thus 
it  was  that  Mary  of  Brabant  was  avenged  of  the 
vilest  and  boldest  accusation  ever  put  forth  ;  from 
that  time  she  lived  in  perfect  harmony  with  her 
husband  ;  she  had  three  children,  one  son  who,  prior 
to  his  ascending  the  throne,  was  Count  d'Evreux,  and 
two  daughters. 

Before  taking  leave  of  Philip  the  Bold,  we  must  not 
forget  to  mention  two  facts  which  are  of  importance 
as  illustrating  the  decay  of  fcuilal  institutions.    In  the 


PHILIP   IV.  139 

first  place,  by  granting  (1272)  a  patent  of  nobility  to 
his  treasurer  Raoul,  the  king  gave  the  earliest 
instance  on  record  in  French  history  of  a  commoner 
being  admitted  into  the  aristocracy  ;  secondly,  leave 
was  granted  for  commoners  to  enjoy  the  possessions 
of  fiefs.  Thus  nobility  ceased  to  be  a  natural  quality 
which  could  neither  be  lost  nor  purchased  ;  it  was 
reduced  to  a  privilege  conferred  to  this  or  that  man 
by  the  accident  of  his  birth  or  the  good  pleasure  of 
the  king,  to  the  prejudice  of  his  equals.  Any  one 
was  qualified  to  exercise  the  rights  it  implies,  and  to 
discharge  the  duties  resulting  from  it. 

Philip  IV.  was  seventeen  years  old  when  he 
ascended  the  throne,  and  from  the  very  beginning 
of  his  reign  it  was  quite  evident  that  the  power  was 
in  the  hand  of  the  legists.  The  days  of  feudalism 
had  passed  away  for  ever,  and  a  period  of  transition 
was  commencing.  Under  the  old  system,  as  there 
was  no  administration  properly  so  called,  government 
agents  did  not  exist ,  as  the  vassals  of  the  Crown 
were  compelled  to  do  military  service,  there  was  no 
mercenary  troops,  no  need  to  provide  for  the  pay 
of  a  permanent  army.  Things  now  were  totally 
different ;  the  royal  domain  included  two-thirds  of 
France  instead  of  half  a  dozen  towns  as  heretofore  ; 
hence  the  necessity  of  a  host  of  judges,  notaries, 
provosts,  seneschals,  counsellors,  &c.  It  was  the  same 
in  matters  of  war ;  whereas  formerly,  as  a  general 
rule,  warlike  expeditions  were  confined  within  rela- 
tively small  limits,  now  troops  had  to  be  moved 
towards  the  Pyrenees,  the  Rhine,  the  Garonne,  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean.     Fleets  were  indispens- 


140  LOW   STATE   OF   THE   EXCHEQUER. 

able,  and  the  feudal  militia  could  not  suffice.  Now 
law-agents  must  be  paid  ;  seneschals  appointed  by  the 
king  will  not  explain  the  law  gratis,  counsellors  insist 
on  being  remunerated  for  giving  advice.  In  like 
manner,  if  the  feudal  militia  is  not  equal  to  the 
exigencies  of  a  campaign,  mercenary  troops  must  be 
called  in  ;  they  are  subjected  to  strict  discipline,  and 
their  services  can  always  be  depended  upon  ;  but 
they  very  naturally  require  to  be  paid  ;  and  if  the 
Genoese  galleys  (as  in  the  case  of  the  war  with 
Flanders)  are  retained  in  addition  to  the  ships  from 
Poitou  and  Normandy,  money  must  be  forthcoming 
\Vc  thus  see  that  Philip  the  Fair  {le  bel,  such  was 
his  surname)  was  very  short  of  money,  and  as  the 
expenses  kept  increasing  whilst  the  national  income 
remained  the  same,  France  seemed  on  the  eve  of  a 
bankruptcy.  Philip  tried  several  means  of  replenish- 
ing the  exchequer,  but  he  was  very  unwise  in  the 
schemes  he  adopted,  and  whilst  grinding  down  the 
people,  he  did  no  good  to  the  State.  One  of  his 
first  plans  was  to  extort  money  arbitrarily  out  of  the 
Jews  and  Lombards — the  bankers  of  those  days. 
Driven  from  France  the  Jews  carried  their  riches 
into  foreign  lands,  the  Lombards  concealed  theirs,  and 
commerce  came  to  a  standstill.  Now,  Philip  turned 
coiner  and  this,  of  course,  did  not  mend  matters  ; 
he  ordered  all  the  old  coinage  to  be  melted,  with  the 
view  of  altering  its  value  ;  further,  under  the  pretence 
of  enforcing  the  sumptuary  laws,  he  confiscated  the 
gold  and  silver  plate  of  those  persons  who  had  not 
a  kirge  fortune,  and  caused  it  to  be  cast  into  the 
smelting  furnace  out  of  which  it  came  in  the  shape 


PHILIP   IV.    AND    THE   ENGLISH.  14I 

of  livres  and  sous  parisis,  nominally  equal  in  value 
to  what  they  used  to  be,  but  really  worth  much  less  ; 
the  consequence  was  the  ruin  of  industry.  His 
endeavour  to  raise  taxes  in  Flanders  led  to  a  rebel- 
lion ;  his  bold  endeavour  to  get  money  out  of  the 
Church  ended  in  a  quarrel  with  Pope  Boniface  VIII.  ; 
we  shall  see  presently  the  mysterious  history  of  the 
Templars  and  the  destruction  of  the  order. 

Philip  the  Fair  was  not  naturally  of  a  fighting 
disposition  ;  as  soon  as  he  could,  he  got  rid  of  useless 
warfares  by  treaties  and  peaceful  arrangements,  and 
set  about  extending  his  domains  b)^  marriages  and 
other  quiet  contrivances.  His  union  with  the  heiress 
of  Navarre  and  Champagne  procured  to  him  two 
important  provinces;  a  sentence  of  parliament 
deprived  the  heirs  of  Hugh  de  Lusignan  to  the 
profit  of  the  French  Crown,  which  was  thus  put  in 
possession  of  Marche  and  Angoumois  ;  finall)-,  Philip's 
second  son  took  to  wife  the  heiress  of  Franche  Comte. 
Remained  the  countship  of  Flanders  and  the  duchies 
of  Guienne  and  Brittany.  Here  fighting  was  a  matter 
of  absolute  necessity,  and  Philip  tried  first  what  he 
could  do  in  Southern  France.  Edward  I.,  King  of 
England,  was  at  the  same  time  Duke  of  Guienne, 
and  might  have  proved  a  dangerous  adversary  for 
Philip  had  he  not  been  entirely  absorbed  by  the 
p.ffairs  of  Wales  and  of  Scotland.  Philip's  army 
marched  into  Guienne,  whilst  his  fleet  plundered 
Dover.  The  Count  of  Flanders  had  sided  with 
Edward  ;  Philip  invaded  his  domains  and  defeated 
the  Flemings  at  Furnes  (1295).  Thanks  to  the 
intervention  of  the  Pope,  peace  was  concluded  between 


142  PHILIP  IV.   AND    THE   FLEMINGS. 

France  and  England,  the  treaty  being  confirmed 
by  the  marriage  of  the  daughter  of  Philip  the  Fair 
with  the  son  of  the  King  of  England.  Thus  it 
happened  that  prospective  claims  to  the  crown  of 
France  were  enjoyed  by  England  —  claims  which  later 
on  Edward  III.  knew  how  to  put  forth,  and  to  sup- 
port by  the  power  of  his  arms.  Hitherto  Philip  had 
sided  with  the  Scotch  ;  he  abandoned  them  to  his 
new  ally,  who  in  his  turn  forsook  the  Count  of 
Flanders.  Thus  deserted,  this  prince  was  struck 
with  terror ;  he  came  in  person  to  surrender  to 
Philip,  and  Flanders  was  annexed  to  the  kingdom 
of  France, 

Common  sense  should  have  suggested  to  Philip 
the  advisability  of  treating  the  Flemings  with  kind- 
ness, or,  at  any  rate,  with  a  certain  amount  of  courtesy. 
Unfortunately  he  adopted  a  totally  different  course, 
and  sent  amongst  them  as  a  governor,  Jacques  de 
Chatillon,  who  thought  that  he  had  nothing  to  do 
but  to  get  as  much  money  as  he  could  out  of  a  rich 
and  thriving  population,  and  to  convince  them  that 
their  riches  would  avail  them  nothing  against  the 
power  of  the  Jieiirs-dc-lys.  He  began  by  depriving 
the  citizens  of  their  municipal  elections,  and  of  the 
right  of  managing  their  own  affairs.  This  ill-judged 
measure  alienated  the  upper  classes.  His  next  act 
was  to  oblige  the  workmen  to  pay  to  the  Crown  one 
fourth  of  their  daily  salary.  This  irritated  the  poor. 
An  amount  of  agitation  took  place  which  Chatillon 
did  not  anticipate,  although  the  ill-will  of  the 
Flemings  had  manifested  itself  on  the  vcr\'  first  day 
of  the  French  occupation.     The  centre  of  the  move- 


BATTLE   OF   COURTRAI.  I43 

mcnt  was  at  Bruges,  which  Chatillon  had  visited 
with  his  wrath  ;  he  had  confiscated  the  privileges 
of  the  town,  dismantled  it,  and  was  constructing 
a  citadel  with  the  view  of  keeping  the  citizens  in 
order.  A  massacre  of  the  French  took  place  on 
May  17,  1302,  and  precautions  were  taken  by  the 
inhabitants  to  prevent  the  foreign  knights  from 
retaliating.  Chains  were  drawn  across  the  streets, 
and  all  the  available  bridles  and  saddles  seized  by 
the  magistrates  for  the  purposes  of  furnishing  an 
improvised  body  of  cavalry.  The  report  that  the 
King  of  France  was  advancing  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  sixty  thousand  men  only  served  to  exaspe- 
rate the  people  of  Bruges,  who  were  nearly  the  only 
part  of  the  population  which  seemed  determined  to 
fight.  "Attacked  before  Courtrai,  they  coolly  awaited 
the  French,  having  taken  up  their  position  at  the 
back  of  a  semi-circular  ditch,  concealed  both  by 
branches  of  trees  and  by  the  bulrushes  which  filled  the 
marshes.  A  priest  celebrated  mass,  and  at  the  moment 
of  the  devotion,  each  man  taking  up  a  little  earth 
raised  it  to  his  lips,  thus  showing  that  he  joined  in 
the  communion  with  his  fellow- citizens.  The  French 
were  full  of  confidence  ;  in  order  to  have  the  whole 
honour  of  the  victory,  they  pushed  aside  the  Italian 
archers  who  formed  a  kind  of  auxiliary  force.  They 
had  the  advantage  at  first ;  but  the  Count  d'Artois 
having  crossed  the  ditch  was  killed  close  to  the 
banner  of  Flanders,  and  the  horsemen  who  followed 
him  stumbled  upon  one  another  in  utter  confusion. 
Thus  disabled  and  helpless,  they  became  the  easy 
victims  of  their  enemies,  who  made  of  them  a  terrible 


144  PHILIP   IV.   AND    THE    CHURCH. 

slaughter.  Twelve  thousand  sergeants-at-arms  were 
then  killed  in  a  marsh,  which  subsequently  received 
the  name  of  the  Blood  Marsh.  We  are  told  that  on 
the  field  of  battle  the  gold  spurs  of  the  knights  were 
measured  by  the  bushel  "  ^ 

We  may  imagine  how  joyfully  the  news  of  Philip's 
defeat  was  received  at  Rome,  Florence,  Toulouse,  and 
Bordeaux.  It  is  true  that  the  French  avenged  their 
honour  at  Mons-en-Puelle  (1304),  but  the  king  having 
besieged  Lille,  a  general  rising  of  the  whole  of 
Flanders  took  place,  and  Philip  drew  back  ;  he 
obtained  Douai,  Lille,  Bethune,  Orchies.and  the  whole 
of  P>ench  Flanders  situated  between  the  Lys  and 
the  Scheldt,  and  as  a  kind  of  compensation  he  gave 
back  to  the  Flemings  their  count,  who  did  him 
feudal  homage  for  his  domains.  Thoroughly  ruined 
by  the  war,  he  returned  to  his  kingdom,  and  found 
there  great  irritation  caused  by  the  famine,  the  altera- 
tion of  the  coinage,  and  the  other  financial  measures 
which  he  had  so  injudiciously  forced  upon  the  people. 
He  now  turned  his  attention  towards  the  Pope,  and 
thought  he  would  replenish  his  exchequer  at  the 
expense  of  the  Church. 

As  early  as  1296  differences  had  arisen  between 
Boniface  VIII.  and  Philip  the  Fair,  on  account  of 
certain  taxes  which  the  king  wished  to  levy  on 
ecclesiastical  property.  "  Between  the  famished  king," 
says  M.  Michelet,  "and  the  hungry  starved  to  death, 
there  was  some  one  rich,  and  that  some  one  was  tlie 
Church,  archbishops  and  bishops,  canons  and  monks 
— monks   ancient,  belonging   to  the  order  of  Saint 

'    Hordier  ami  ("harton. 


ARREST   OF   BERNARD    iSAISSET.  I45 

Benedict ;  monks  modern,  styled  mendicant  friars — 
they  were  all  rich,  and  vied  with  each  other  in  point 
of  opulence.  All  that  tonsured  society  throve  on 
the  blessings  of  heaven  and  the  fat  of  the  land. 
It  was  a  small  and  happy  community,  obese  and 
shining,  in  the  midst  of  the  great  famished  people, 
which  was  beginning  to  look  at  them  with  an 
unfavourable  eye." 

Concord  seemed  however  to  be  re-established  for  a 
short  time,  and  Boniface  VIII.,  as  an  earnest  of  good 
will,  pronounced  the  canonization  of  Louis  IX.  This 
was  only  a  brief  respite,  and  the  proud  interference 
of  the  Pope  in  the  home  policy  of  France  made 
things  worse  than  ever.  One  of  the  Papal  legates, 
Bernard  Saisset,  an  ambitious  and  violent  man, 
Bishop  of  Pamiers,  used  on  a  certain  occasion  offen- 
sive and  even  treasonable  language  towards  the  King 
of  France,  and  what  was  more,  in  the  king's  own 
presence.  Philip  could  not  brook  such  insolence  ;  he 
caused  Bernard  Saisset  to  be  arrested,  and  requested 
the  Archbishop  of  Narbonne,  his  metropolitan,  to 
pronounce  his  canonical  degradation.  The  arch- 
bishop having  referred  to  the  Pope,  Boniface  VIII. 
by  way  of  answer,  fulminated  the  famous  Bull 
Ausculta.fili,  which  resulted  in  his  being  shamefully 
treated,  and  in  his  meeting  finally  with  a  pitiable 
death.  The  whole  of  this  affair  was  characterized 
on  both  sides  by  acts  of  violence  which  would  iiave 
marred  the  best  cause,  and  which  did  equal  injur\-  to 
the  King  of  France  and  to  the  Pope.  The  drift  of 
the  Bull  will  be  seen  from  the  following  quotation  : 
"  God   has   set  me,  though   unworth}-,  above  kings 


146  'bull  ^' ausculta,  fill'' 

and  kingdoms,  having  imposed  upon  me  the  }'oke  of 
apostolic  servitude,  to  root  out  and  to  pull  down,  to 
destroy  and  to  throw  down,  to  build  and  to  plant,  in 
His  name.  Wherefore  let  no  man  persuade  you  that 
you  have  no  superior,  or  that  you  are  not  subject  to 
the  supreme  head  of  the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  He 
who  thinks  so  is  a  madman,  and  if  he  persists  in  his 
error,  is  convicted  as  an  infidel. 

"Although  it  is  certain  that  the  nomination  to  all 
benefices  belongs  to  the  Pope,  and  that  you  have  no 
right  to  any  such  patronage  without  the  consent  of 
the  Holy  See,  you  oppose  our  collations,  and  claim 
to  act  as  judge  in  your  own  cause.  You  drag  before 
your  tribunals  the  bishops  and  other  clergy  of  your 
kinfjdom,  both  regular  and  secular,  even  for  matters 
concerning  property  which  they  do  not  hold  from 
you  in  fief.  You  exact  from  them  tenths  and  other 
imposts,  although  la}'men  have  no  authority  what- 
ever over  the  clergy.  You  hinder  the  bishops  from 
employing  the  spiritual  sword  against  offenders,  and 
from  exercising  their  jurisdiction  over  conventual 
houses.  You  observe  no  moderation  in  disposing  of 
the  revenues  of  vacant  episcopal  sees  which  you  call 
by  an  abuse,  '  Droit  de  regale!  You  squander  these 
revenues,  and  turn  into  plunder  what  was  a  means  of 
preserving  them  intact." 

The  Bull  Ansailta,  fill,  accompanied  by  the  one 
known  as  Salvator  inuiidi,  and  by  three  others,  was 
issued  on  the  3rd  of  December,  1301  :  it  had  been 
preceded  by  the  Bulls  Iiicffabilis  ainoris  (February 
7,  1297)  and  Clcricis  la'icos  (February  24,  1296). 
Whilst  denouncing   the  bad   administraticjn  of  Philip 


GUILLAUME  DE   NOGARET.  T47 

the    Fair,  and    the    iniquitous    taxes    which  he  im- 
posed upon  his  subjects,  Boniface  VIII.  was  perfectly 
right,  and   he   was   well   aware   that    the    tax    called 
maltote  (L.  male  /tf//^=unfairl3'  raised),  exacted  from 
certain  large  towns  had  caused  rebellions,  at  Rouen, 
for  instance  (1292);  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  formed 
on  the  power  of  the    Papacy  ideas    which    were    no 
longer  admissible.     The  days  of  Gregory  VI T.   had 
gone  never  to  return,  and    the    lawyers    who   really 
governed    the    kingdom    under  the   name  of   Philip, 
endeavoured    to    establish    the    rule    of  Roman    law 
which    gives   to   the   king  absolute  power,    including 
that   of    interfering    in    the    administration    of  the 
diocese.     Hence  a  deplorable  quarrel.     Supported  by 
the   unanimous   vote   of  the    States- General    (1302), 
Philip   threatened    Boniface    with    a   council,    before 
which  he  meant  to  summons   him  ;  the  Pope  in   his 
turn  prepared  a  Bull  for  the  deposition  of  the  king. 
This  was  too  much  ;  one  of  the  agents  of  Philip  the 
Fair,  Guillaume  de  Nogaret,  was  in  Italy,  at  Anagni, 
the  birthplace  of  Boniface   VIII.,   who    had    himself 
repaired  there  from  Rome.    Nogaret  had  contrived  to 
gain  the  support  of  the  inhabitants,  and  was  accom- 
panied by  Sciarra  Colonna,    a  nobleman  of  Roman 
origin,  and  a  mortal  enemy  of  the  Pope.     We  should 
remark  that  Nogaret's  grandfather  had  been  formerly 
burnt  alive  as  belonging  to  the  sect  of  Albigenses ; 
he  could  not,  therefore,  feel  very  favourably  disposed 
towards  the  Holy  See.     He  entered  Anagni  at  the 
head   of   four    hundred    men,  and  marched  towards 
the  palace  amidst  the  cries  of  "  Death  to  the  Pope ! 
Long    live    the    King   of    P'rance ! "       Boniface  was 


148      POPES    BONIFACE    VIII.   AND   BENEDICT  XL 

sitting-  on  liis  throne,  arrayed  in  his  poiUincal  vest- 
ments, with  the  tiara  on  his  head,  holding  a  cross 
in  one  hand,  and  the  keys  of  St.  Peter  in  the  other. 
Being  ordered  to  abdicate,  he  said,  "Here  is  my  neck^ 
here  is  my  head  ;  betrayed  Hke  Jesus  Christ,  if  I  must 
die  as  He  did,  at  any  rate,  I  shall  die  a  Pope." 
Thereupon  Sciarra  Colonna  tore  him  from  his  throne, 
struck  him  in  the  face  with  his  iron  gauntlet,  and 
would  have  killed  him  on  the  spot,  had  not  Guillaume 
de  Nogaret  interfered.  Addressing  Boniface,  the 
Frenchman  said  :  "  O  thou  wretched  Pope,  consider 
and  behold  the  kindness  of  my  lord  the  King  of 
France  who,  for  ever  so  distant  as  his  realms  are 
from  thine,  by  me  protects  and  defends  thee." 

The  people  of  Anagni,  however,  recovered  at  last 
from  the  stupor  i  .  which  they  had  been  plunged  by 
the  arrival  of  the  French ;  they  rose,  drove  away  the 
invaders,  set  the  Pope  at  liberty,  and  conducted  him 
back  to  Rome.  He  died  shortly  after  of  shame  and 
anger  at  the  affronts  to  which  he  had  been  submitted. 
Benedict  XL,  who  succeeded  Boniface  on  the  siege  of 
St.  Peter,  wanted  to  avenge  him  by  excommunicating 
Nogaret,  Colonna,  and  all  those  who  had  assisted 
them.  The  sentence  virtually  reached  the  king  ;  one 
month  after  the  Bull  was  fulminated  the  new  Pope 
died,  most  probably  of  poison. 

Philip  the  Fair  now  contrived  to  secure  the  tiara 
for  an  ecclesiastic  of  his  own  choice,  and  who  would 
not  hesitate  to  accept  any  terms  the  French  monarch 
might  think  fit  to  make.  This  was  Bertrand  de  Got, 
Archbishop  of  Bordeaux  ;  he  assumed  the  name  of 
Clement  X.,  was  consecrated  at  Lyons,  and  abandon- 


THE    KNIGHTS-TEMPLAR.  I49 

ing  Rome,  came  to  settle  at  Avignon  (1308),  where 
he  was  at  the  disposal  and  under  the  thumb,  so  to 
say,  of  the  king.  Then  commenced  what  has  been 
called  the  second  Babylonish  captivity ;  the  successors 
of  Clement  V.  remained  in  Avignon  till  the  year  1376. 
The  scandalous  bargain  thus  made  between  the 
Pope  and  Philip  has  been  characterized  in  three 
doggrel  lines,  which  we  find  quoted  by  Walsingham  : 

"  Ecclesioe  navis  titubat,  regni  quia  clavis 
■  Errat.     Rex,  Papa,  facti  sunt  unica  cappa. 
Hoc  faciunt  doiies,  Pilatus  hec,  alter  Herodes." 

One  of  the  conditions  imposed  by  the  king  upon  the 
Pope  was  the  destruction  of  the  Order  of  the  Temple. 
Why  should  those  warrior-monks  be  so  rich?  In  the 
time  of  the  Crusades  they  might  have  given  as  an 
excuse  that  they  spent  their  money  in  levying  troops 
for  the  delivery  of  the  Holy  Land  ;  but  now  that 
these  expeditions  were  abandoned,  there  seemed  no 
need  for  the  knights  to  have  in  their  treasure-house 
150,000  gold  florins,  besides  silver  and  precious  cups, 
vases,  and  other  specimens  of  goldsmith's  work.  Then 
was  not  the  order  a  standing  menace  against  the 
power  of  the  king?  They  numbered  15,000  knights, 
in  addition  to  an  imm.ense  number  of  retainers  ;  they 
possessed  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  Christendom 
upwards  of  10,000  manorial  re  idences,  to  say  nothing 
of  fortresses  which  could  set  at  defiance  the  united 
forces  of  Europe.  Finally,  their  orthodoxy  was  more 
than  doubtful,  and  they  constituted  a  standing 
scandal  to  the  Church.  They  worshipped  the  devil 
under  the  shape  of  a  cat,  they  were  Mahometans  in 


150  "ROMAN  DE   FAUVEL." 

disguise,  they  held  mysteries  which  no  profane  eye 
was  allowed  to  see,  and  to  which  no  outsider  was 
admitted,  &c.,  &c.  It  would  be  perhaps  rash  to  deny 
that  the  Templars  were  not  uniformly  blameless  from 
the  point  of  view  of  morality,  and  that  their  religious 
opinions  were  not  strictly  orthodox  ;  but  confessions 
obtained  under  the  influence  of  torture  are  unworthy 
of  belief,  and  it  is  only  too  clear  now  that  the  sup- 
pression of  the  Order  of  the  Temple  was  the  result  of 
Philip  the  Fair's  covetousness  and  love  of  money. 
By  a  clever  stroke  of  policy  he  thought  of  associating 
the  nation  with  him  in  his  design,  and  summoned 
the  States-General  at  Tours.  In  the  meanwhile 
popular  opinion  instigated  by  Philip  the  Fair  had 
been  excited  against  the  Papacy,  and  satirical  litera- 
ture was  brought  in  to  take  the  king's  part  and  to 
further  his  designs.  The  most  signal  instance  of  this 
rather  unscrupulous  attack  is  to  be  found  in  the 
"  Roman  de  Fauvel,"  composed  by  Francois  de  Rues. 
Faiivel^  an  imaginary  being,  half-man  and  half-horse, 
is  represented  as  a  kind  of  idol  before  which  popes, 
cardinals,  princes,  bishops,  monks,  are  prostrated. 
Every  one  claims  the  privilege  of  torcJier  Fauvel 
(aressing  Fauvel),  and  the  expression  torcJier  Fauvel, 
coined  at  that  epoch,  has  remained  as  the  synonym 
o^  to  cabal,  to  intrigue,  to  act  unscrupulously.  Fauvel  is 
the  embodiment  of  falsehood,  pride,  and  sensuality. 

"  De  Fauvel  descent  Flaterie, 
Qui  du  monde  a  la  seigneurie, 
Et  puis  en  descent  avarice, 
Qui  de  torclier  Fauvel  n'est  nice, 

Vilenie  et  vanite, 
Et  puis  envi  et  fausete." 


STATES-GENERAL    OF    1302.  151 

"  From  Fauvel  proceeds  flattery, 
Which  exercises  the  l>>rdship  in  this  world  : 
Thence  proceeds  also  avarice 
\Vhich  has  no  scruple  in  caressing  Fauvel, 

\"ilcness  and  vanity, 
And  then  envy  and  falsehood.'" 

Of  the  condemned  Templars  the  poet  says  : 

"  Helas  1  Helas  t  c'est  bien  raison  ; 
Car  lis  ont,  trop  longue  saison, 
Cette  orde  vie  demenee  ; 
Si  regnassent  plus  longuement, 
Crestiente  certenement 
S'en  fust  partout  envenimee." 

*'  Alas  !  alas  1  it  is  quite  right  (that  they  should  be 
condemned); 
For  they  have  too  long 
Led  this  disgraceful  life  ; 
If  they  had  reigned  for  a  longer  period, 
Christendom  certainly 
Would  have  been  thoroughly  poisoned." 

Thus  excited,  the  deputies  to  the  States-General 
pronounced  unanimously  the  condemnation  of  the 
unfortunate  Templars,  and  gave  to  the  unscrupulous 
despot  the  full  sanction  to  seize  upon  the  rich  prey 
which  he  had  so  long  been  coveting  (May,  1307). 
All  the  towns  of  any  importance  were  represented  at 
Tours  as  well  as  all  the  prelates  and  the  great 
majority  of  the  nobility.  Thus  it  might  be  said  with 
a  certain  amount  of  plausibility  that  the  entire  nation 
believed  in  the  guilt  of  the  knights,  though  at  the 
same  time  the  accusation  brought  against  them  was 
utterly  false  and  calumnious.  But  Philip  the  Fair 
was  accustomed  to  such  procedure,  and  already,  five 
years  before,   when    the   States-General  of  1302  pro- 


152      FIFTY  FOUR    KNIGHTS   BURNT    TO    DEATH. 

nounced  the  deposition  of  Boniface  VIII.,  they  had 
falsified  the  Papal  bull  in  the  most  scandalous 
manner  with  the  view  of  finding  a  ground  for  their 
accusations. 

Fifty-four  Templars  were  burnt  alive  in  one  day  at 
Paris  alone,  and  similar  executions  took  place  in  all 
the  principal  provincial  towns.  The  Pope,  at  the 
council  of  Vienne  (1312),  pronounced  the  suppression 
of  the  order  throughout  Christendom  ;  their  riches 
were  to  be  handed  over  to  the  Knights  Hospitallers, 
but  we  need  scarcely  say  that  Philip  the  Fair 
managed  to  secure  a  large  portion  of  the  spoil.  He 
obtained  all  the  coin  found  in  the  chief  house  of 
the  order,  besides  two-thirds  of  the  furniture  and  of 
the  money  owing  to  them,  and  a  considerable  amount 
of  landed  property. 


VIII. 


PHILIP   THE    FAIR— LOUIS   X.— PHILIP   V.— CHARLES 

IV. — PHILIP  VI. 

(1314-I328.) 

The  reign  of  Philip  the  Fair  was  marked,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  by  events  of  the  most  extraordinary,  and, 
we  may  almost  say,  the  most  revolutionary  character. 
The  administration  of  France  furnished  the  king 
with  an  opportunity  of  carrying  out  his  scheme  of 
reforms,  and  we  are  bound  to  say  that  although  his 
laws  were  stamped  with  the  mark  of  despotism, 
some  of  them,  many  of  them,  we  should  say,  mani- 
fested a  true  idea  of  the  principles  of  government. 

The  Paris  parliament  existed  in  an  elementary 
form  under  the  reign  of  Philip  Augustus  and  Saint 
Louis,  but  it  was  reserved  for  Philip  the  Fair  to  give 
to  it  a  regular  constitution,  and  make  of  it  a  real 
court  of  justice.  By  his  decree  of  1302,  he  separated 
the  functions  of  the  parliament  into  three  classes, 
according  as  they  were  of  a  political,  judicial,  or 
financial  nature.  The  first  belonged  to  the  Council  of 
State  {Grand Co)iseil  or  Conseil  Etroit  ;  the  second  fell 
under  the  cognizance  of  the  Parliament  properly 
so  called  ;  the  third   pertained  to  the  Court   of  Ac- 


154  THE   PARTS   PARLIAMENT. 

counts  {Cour  dcs  comptcs).  With  reference  to  the 
parHament,  it  was  definitely  constituted  by  virtue 
of  the  ordinances  of  1291  and  1302,  and  comprised 
three  distinct  courts  {cJiambres)  : — i.  The  Chambre  des 
requites  judged  the  cases  immediately  brought  before 
the  parliament.  2.  The  Chambre  des  enquetes  decided 
upon  the  cases  -about  which  an  appeal  had  been 
made  to  the  parliament.  3.  The  Grand'  Chambre,  or 
Chambre  des  plaidoiries  judged  the  cases  which  had 
been  previously  examined  in  the  Chambre  dcs  enquetes. 
In  addition  to  the  Paris  parliament,  Philip  the 
Fair  had  also  thought  of  establishing  a  special  one 
at  Toulouse  for  the  trial  of  cases  amenable  to  Roman 
law  ;  but  the  resistance  which  he  encountered  from 
the  local  authorities  obliged  him  to  give  up  his  plan, 
and  to  be  satisfied  with  annexing  to  the  Paris 
parliament  an  additional  Chambre  des  enquetes  re- 
served for  the  examination  of  cases  which  could  not 
be  judged  according  to  the  principles  of  feudal 
legislation.  The  parliament  was  to  meet  twice  a 
year  for  sessions  of  two  months  each,  in  the  building 
called  Palais  de  la  cite,  and  subsequently  known  as 
Palais  de  justice.  The  Normandy"  Exchequer  was 
retained  by  Philip  the  Fair  ;  founded  at  the  time  of 
the  Norman  invasion,  it  had  been,  up  to  the  four- 
teenth century,  a  feudal  court  peculiar  to  the 
province,  meeting  twice  a  year,  at  Easter  and 
Michaelmas,  and  holding  its  sessions  alternately  at 
Rouen,  and  Caen.  King  Philip  directed  that  the 
sittings  of  the  Exchequer  should  take  place  for  the 
future  at  Rouen  exclusively,  under  the  presidency  of 
magistrates  appointed  by  the  Crown.     Finally,  Philip 


JEAN  BURIDAN.  1 55 

IV.  regularized  the  grands  jours  of  Champagne  held 
at  Troyes,  and  which  used  to  meet  for  the  trial  of 
cases  which  the  ordinary  tribunals  were  unable  to  deal 
with. 

We  have  now  come  to  the  last  years  of  an  eventful 
reign,  and  it  remains  for  us  to  notice  two  episodes 
of  a  tragic  character  which  marked  its  conclusion. 

In  his  poem  entitled  "  Le  grand  Testament,"  the 
celebrated  Villon  says  : 

"  Semblalilement  oil  est  la  royne 
Qui  commanda  que  Buridan 
Fut  jette  en  ung  sac  en  Seine." 

This  queen  was  Marguerite  de  Bourgogne,  wife  of 
Louis  le  Hutin,  who,  being  found  guilty  of  adultery, 
was  strangled  in  her  prison  in  13 14,  by  order  of  the 
king.  As  for  Buridan,  whether  he  w^as  tied  into 
a  sack  or  not  and  cast  into  the  Seine,  is  still  a  matter 
of  doubt,  the  probability  being  that  the  whole  episode 
is  nothing  but  an  absurd  tale.  At  any  rate,  he  lived 
to  be  one  of  the  most  distinguished  professors  in  the 
University  of  Paris.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  the 
three  daughters-in-law  of  Philip  the  Fair  led  a  most 
scandalous  life,  and  that  the  Tower  of  Nesle  in  Paris 
was  the  scene  of  their  crimes.  Having  been  found 
out,  they  were  arrested  and  sent  to  prison.  One  of 
them,  as  we  have  just  said,  was  strangled,  another 
committed  suicide,  and  the  third  was  ultimately  taken 
back  by  her  husband.  Their  accomplices,  Gautier 
and  Philip  d'Aunay,  were  flayed  alive  on  the  Place 
de  Greve. 

The  unfortunate  Knights-Templar  suppl\'  us  with 


156  LOUIS    X.,    LE   HUTIN. 

materials  for  the  last  act  of  the  tragedy.  The 
principal  dignitaries  of  the  order  had  been  lingering^ 
in  prison  for  the  space  of  six  years,  and  seemed 
to  be  forgotten.  In  131 3,  having  been  summoned 
before  a  pontifical  court,  they  were  condemned  to 
seclusion  for  life.  The  Grand  Master,  and  another 
visitor  or  master,  then  suddenly  recanted  all  their 
previous  confessions  and  avowals,  says  Guillaume  de 
N  mgis,  to  the  astonishment  of  every  one.  The 
cardinals  who  sat  on  the  commission  delivered  them 
over  to  the  custody  of  the  Provost  of  Paris,  till  a 
more  serious  and  thorough  deliberation  had  taken 
place  the  next  day ;  but  as  soon  as  the  noise  of  that 
incident  had  reached  the  ears  of  the  king,  who 
happened  to  be  in  his  royal  palace,  having  com- 
municated with  his  friends  and  ivitJioiit  sinnmoning 
the  clerks,  by  a  prudent  advice,  in  the  evening  of  the 
same  day,  he  had  both  Jacques  de  Molay,  the  Grand 
Master,  and  the  other  visitor,  burnt  to  death  on  the 
same  pile  in  a  small  island  of  the  Seine,  between  the 
royal  garden  and  the  church  of  the  Hermit  friars 
of  Saint  Augustine.  (This  island  is  now  the  place  on 
the  Pont  neuf  where  stands  the  statue  of  Henry  IV.) 
M.  Michelet,  who  quotes  the  narrative  of  Guillaume 
de  Nangis,  adds  :  "  This  execution,  done  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  judges,  was  evidently  a  murder." 
The  expression  is  not  too  strong. 

Philip  the  Fair  was  only  forty-six  when  he  died, 
November  29,  1314,  leaving  three  sons  who  reigned 
successivel)'. 

Louis  X.,  le  Ilutin  (the  quarrelsome),  occupied  the 
th.one  only  for  the  space  of  eighteen  months  (1314- 


kKGUERKAXD   DE   MARIGNY.  I57 

1316),  and  his  tenure  of  office  was  marked,  in  the 
first  place,  by  an  abortive  expedition  against  Flanders, 
and  in  the  second  by  a  feudal  reaction  which  very 
nearly  destro}'ed  the  work  of  Philip  the  Fair.  The 
barons  were  particularly  anxious  to  ruin  the  a/icr 
ego  of  the  late  king,  Enguerrand  de  INIarigny  ;  he 
was  accused  on  the  most  futile  charges,  by  Charles 
de  Valois,  brother  of  the  late  king,  a  violent  and 
meddlesome  prince,  who  put  himself  forward  as  the 
champion  of  the  barons  and  the  avenger  of  tottering 
feudalism.  It  would  not  have  been  difficult  for 
Marigny  to  defend  himself,  had  liC  been  allowed  to 
do  so  ;  but  his  death  was  a  matter  determined  upon 
beforehand,  so  they  brought  forward  against  him 
a  charge  from  which  there  was  no  escape — that  of 
sorcery,  and  he  was  hanged  in  Paris  at  Monfaucon. 
His  only  crime  was  that  of  having  been  Philip  the 
Fair's  confidential  adviser.  Pierre  de  Latilly,  Chan- 
cellor of  France,  and  Raoul  de  Presle,  Advocate- 
General,  were  put  to  the  torture  ;  Nogaret  was  ruined. 
This  was  the  last  effort  of  the  feudal  system  ;  it  died 
hard,  it  died  fighting,  but  its  days  were  over. 

Louis  X.  left  only  one  daughter  :  five  months  after 
his  death,  his  widow,  Clemence  of  Hungarx',  had  a 
son,  John,  who  only  lived  eight  days.  Was  the 
Princess  Jeanne  to  succeed  to  the  throne  ?  No,  said 
the  Salic  law,  and  accordingly  the  States-General  pro- 
claimed as  king  Philip,  brother  of  "  the  quarrelsome  " 
monarch,  who  thus  became  Philip  V.,  surnamed  le 
Long.  He  was  called  to  the  throne  in  13 16,  after 
a  regency  of  five  or  six  months.  It  is  curious  that 
whereas  the  ri^ht   of  inheriting-  fiefs  was  rccoijnized 


15^  'r^E    SALIC   LAW, 

by  fcndal  law  for  women,  it  was  distinctly'forbiddetl 
in  the  case  of  Salic  domains,  and  the  question  has 
arisen  whether  this  measure  was  a  wise  one  or  not. 
M.  Duruy  remarks  ("  Histoire  de  France,"  voL  i.  p. 
382),  that  several  royal  houses,  that  of  Austria,  for 
instance,  owed  the.'r  greatness  to  the  opposite  principle. 
The  Salic  law,  excellent  as  it  was  to  insure  the  in- 
dependence of  a  small  state,  was  less  necessary  for 
a.  powerful  monarchy.  France  was  too  important 
to  be  absorbed  by  any  power,  and  if  we  suppose  a 
foreign  prince  acquiring  it  by  virtue  of  a  marriage, 
he  would  have,  on  the  contrary,  extended  it,  by  the 
addition  of  his  own  domains.  What  would  have 
happened,  for  instance,  if  Edward  III.  of  England 
had  come  to  the  throne  of  France,  instead  of  Philip 
V. — Edward,  es.sentia]ly  French  by  his  mother,  his 
habits,  his  language,  and  part  of  his  possessions,  since 
he  was  Duke  of  Guienne,  and  Count  of  Ponthieu  ? 
The  consequence  would  have  been  that,  instead  of 
the  mere  countship  of  Valois,  Guienne,  Ponthieu> 
and,  for  a  time,  England,  would  have  become  part 
of  the  royal  domains.  A  few  French  barons  might 
have  had  to  yield  to  English  ones,  but  France  would 
have  been  spared  the  hundred  years'  war.  England 
has  never  had  but  foreign  kings — Saxons,  Danes, 
Normans,  Angevines,  Welsh,  Scotch,  Dutch,  Ger- 
mans ;  she  is  none  the  worse  for  that. 

The  reigns  of  Philip  ¥.(1316-1322),  and  of  Charles 
IV.  (1322-1328),  were  not  remarkable  for  military 
exploits,  but  for  administrative  measures  of  the 
greatest  importance.  Laws  for  the  organization 
of  the  Court  of  Accounts,   for  the    improvement   of 


REFORM   OF   THE   ARISTOCRACY.  I59 

trade  and  commerce,  &c.,  were  enacted.  Philip  V. 
even  planned  a  scheme  for  the  reform  of  the  monetary 
system,  and  the  unity  of  weights  and  measures.  B\- 
granting  to  commoners  patents  of  nobiht}-,  Philip 
v.,  following  the  example  of  Philip  the  Bold,  re- 
newed the  aristocratic  element  of  the  nation,  en- 
sured its  duration,  but,  at  the  same  time,  destroyed 
its  spirit.  Under  the  feudal  regime,  nobility  was 
ona  of  the  attributes  of  military  fiefs;  when  it  sunk,  as 
we  have  already  said,  to  the  humiliating  condition 
of  a  commodity  which  mipht  be  obtained  for  ready 
money,  its  original  and  distinctive  quality  completely 
disappeared. 

At  an  epoch  like  the  one  of  which  we  are  treating, 
when  the  whole  of  society  seems  in  a  state  of  transform- 
ation, it  is  natural  that  a  great  amount  of  anxiety 
should  manifest  itself,  and  that  deeds  of  violence 
should  frequently  occur.  The  Jews  and  the  lepers 
fell  under  suspicion,  and  crimes  were  ascribed  to 
them  which,  utterly  groundless  as  they  were,  became 
a  realit}'  in  the  minds  of  ignorant  and  prejudiced 
people.  It  is  easy  to  understand  why  the  disorder  of 
the  finances,  the  debased  character  of  the  coinage, 
and  the  various  fiscal  measures  introduced  by  Philip  the 
Fair  should  have  irritated  the  nation  against  the  Jews. 
Nor  is  it  more  astonishing  that  the  terrible  mortality 
resulting  from  misery  and  imperfect  sanitary  rules 
should  have  made  the  unfortunate  lepers  suspected 
of  contemplating  the  destruction  of  the  population. 
A  .plot  formed  between  the  Jews  and  the  lepers  was 
seriously  supposed  to  exist  ;  the  Jews  were  the 
instigators   and   the   lepers  their  agents.     The    Lord 


l6o  yEWS   AND   LEPERS. 

of  Parthenay,  says  a  chronicler,  wrote  to  the  king 
that  a  certain  tall  leper,  seized  on  his  estates,  had 
confessed  having  received  from  a  rich  Jew  some 
money  and  some  drugs.  These  were  composed  of 
human  blood,  urine,  and  consecrated  wafers.  The 
whole,  thoroughly  mixed  up,  dried  and  pounded, 
was  placed  in  small  bags,  fastened  to  weights,  and 
thrown  into  wells  and  fountains.  The  same  chronicler 
reports  having  seen  one  of  these  bags  ;  a  leper 
woman  who  was  passing  by,  fearing  to  be  caught, 
threw  behind  her  a  bag  tied  with  a  string,  which 
was  immediately  brought  before  a  judge.  Being 
opened,  it  was  found  to  contain  the  head  of  a  snake, 
the  feet  of  a  toad,  and  some  woman's  hair  saturated 
with  a  black  and  stinking  liquor.  The  whole,  cast 
into  the  fire,  did  not  burn — a  sure  proof  that  it  was 
some  deadly  poison.  Excited  by  such  terrible 
stories,  the  people  rose  against  the  Jews  and  the 
lepers,  and  a  great  many  of  them  were  put  to 
death. 

Nor  must  we  forget  a  fresh  rising  of  the  Pastoureanx 
(1320).  As  in  the  days  of  Saint  Louis  a  number  of 
poor  people,  shepherds,  peasants,  assembled  them- 
selves together  with  the  intention,  they  asserted,  of 
going  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  recovering  it  from  the 
infidels.  Led  by  an  unfrocked  priest  and  a  monk 
they  marched  into  Paris,  committing  on  their  way 
all  kinds  of  violence.  At  the  Chatelct  the  provost 
wanted  to  prevent  them  from  entering  ;  they  threw 
him  headlong  from  the  top  of  the  stairs  ;  they  went  off 
then  to  the  Pre-aux-clercs,  where  they  drew  them- 
selves in  battle  array.    Marching,  finally,  out  of  Paris, 


CHARLES   LE   BEL.  l6l 

they  proceeded  southwards  till  the}-  came  to  Toulouse. 
There  they  were  put  to  flight  ;  batclies  of  twent}'  or 
thirty  were  sent  to  the  gallows  at  a  time  ;  the  others 
dispersed  and  gave  up  their  vain  attempt. 

Philip  the  Fair  was  carried  off  by  death  at  the  early 
age  of  forty-six  ;  Louis  le  Hutin  at  twenty-seven  ; 
Philip  the  Long  at  twenty-eight ;  Charles  the  Fair  at 
thirty-four— all  in  the  prime  of  life.  Was  this  a 
visitation  from  heaven  on  the  family  of  the  remorse- 
less king  who  had  insulted  Boniface  VI 1 1.,  perhaps 
poisoned  Benedict  XL,  and  burnt  the  Templars 
alive?  The  common  people  thought  so,  and  saw 
with  a  kind  of  satisfaction  the  end  of  a  line  of  kings 
whose  latest  representatives  had  brought  such  scandal 
upon  the  Crown  of  France. 

About  Charles  IV.  himself  (Charles  le  Bel,  1322- 
1328)  there  is  little  to  be  said.  The  great  object  of 
his  life  was  to  get  money,  and  with  this  aim  in  view 
he  had  recourse  to  all  sorts  of  tricks  and  con- 
trivances ;  the  coinage  was  debased,  the  Jews  were 
plundered,  and  on  the  faith  of  his  promise  to  organize 
a  Crusade,  he  obtained  from  the  clergy  the  equivalent 
of  four  years'  tithes.  Export  duties  were  levied  on 
all  goods,  public  offices  were  put  up  for  sale,  and 
those  who  had  received  gratuitously  their  appoint- 
ment to  certain  posts,  that,  for  instance,  of  keeper 
of  the  seals,  were  obliged  either  to  give  them  up  or 
to  pay  a  specified  sum  fixed  by  the  king.  Philip  V. 
had  issued  a  decree  strictly  forbidding  the  alienation 
of  Crown  lands.  Charles  IV.  compelled  the  owners 
of  such  lands  to  restore  not  only  the  value  of  these 
lands,   but    the    interest    dating   from    the    time    of 


l62       SEVERITY  OF   THE   PARIS   PARLTAMENT. 

purchase.  A  poem,  composed  about  that  time,  and 
called  "  Baudouin  de  Sebouix,"  shows  what  the 
general  feeling  was  about  money  and  the  lust  of 
riches.  "  What  is  money  "  {argent),  sa)'s  the  author, 
"  and  why  was  it  thus  named  t "  The  answer  does 
not  show  a  deep  acquaintance  with  etymology,  but 
it  is  an  amusing  proof  of  the  irritation  then  existing 
against  misers  and  the  precursors  of  Shylock. 

"  Un  deable  d'enfer  le  fist  argent  nomme  ; 
Car  il  nrt  tout  le  monde,  si  Ions  qu'en  set  aller, 
N'est  si  petit  enfes,  c'est  legier  a  prouver, 
S'on  li  donne  un  denier,  qui  n'en  laist  le  plourer." 

"  A  clerk  from  hell  caused  it  to  be  named  money, 

For  it  consumes  (L.  arda-e)  the  whole  world,  so  far  as  you  can  go  ; 

And  there  is  not  so  small  a  child  (this  is  easily  proved) 

Who  does  not  leave  off  crying,  provided  you  give  him  a  penny." 

Strange    to    say,   the    Paris    Parliament   was    no 
respecter  of  persons,  but  sent  to  the  gallows  barons 
as  if  they  were  mere  commoners.     This  was  the  case 
with    Jourdain     de     Lille,    lord    of    Casaubon,    who, 
although  guilty  of  eighteen  capital  crimes,  had  been 
forgiven    by  the    king.     Persisting   in    his    career  of 
v/ickedness,  he  was  summoned  to  appear  before  the 
court    of    Parliament.       He    began    by    killing    the 
official  who  delivered  the  message  to  him,  and  then 
entered    Paris  with   an    escort    of    nobles    and    lords 
from  Aquitaine.     Notwithstanding  this  piece  of  im- 
pertinence, meant  to  strike  the  government  with  awe, 
Jourdain  de  Lille  was  seized,  dragged  to  the  gallows 
at    a   horse's   tail,    and    despatched    without    further 
;eremony  ;  and  yet  he  was  nephew  of  the  Pope,  and 


THE   HUNDRED    YEARS'    WAR.  163 

Strenuous  efforts  had  been  made  by  the  whole  French 
nobility  to  obtain  once  more  his  pardon. 

Charles  IV.  favoured  the  revolution  which  in 
England  ended  in  the  dethronement  of  Edward  II., 
and  he  received  the  homage  of  young  Edward  III. 
for  the  provinces  of  Guienne  and  Ponthieu  ;  he  did 
not  live  long  enough,  however,  to  profit  by  that 
revolution.  He  died  nearly  at  the  same  time  as 
the  English  monarch,  leaving  as  regent  of  the  king- 
dom Philip  de  Valois,  grandson  of  Philip  the  Bold. 
The  question  of  succession  to  the  throne  of  France 
was  a  difificult  one  to  solve.  Supposing  that  the 
.idow  of  Charles  IV.  should  be  confined  of  a 
daughter,  to  whom  would  that  succession  belong — 
to  Philip  de  Valois,  or  to  Edward  III.  of  England, 
who  was  grandson  of  Philip  the  Fair  by  his  mother 
Isabeau  }  The  English  put  forth  their  claims  in 
favour  of  Edward  on  the  ground  that  if,  by  virtue 
of  the  Salic  law,  Isabeau  was  precluded  from  reign- 
ing over  France,  no  law  whatever  extended  that 
prohibition  to  her  son.  The  argument  on  the  French 
side  was  this  :  Isabeau  could  not  transmit  a  right 
which  she  did  not  herself  possess  ;  and,  besides,  even 
if  the  principle  laid  down  by  the  English  were 
admitted,  the  throne  would  belong,  not  to  Edward, 
but  to  the  son  of  the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  daughter 
of  Philip  V.  The  Hundred  Years'  War,  as  it  is 
generally  called,  had  its  origin  in  the  difficulty  of 
solving  this  problem. 

Philip  de  Valois  made  himself  popular  during  his 
regency  by  certain  measures  designed  for  the  public 
benefit,  so  that  when  the  queen  dowager  had   been 


164  REBELLION  IN  FLANDERS. 

confined  of  a  daughter,  he  ascended  the  throne  and 
was  anointed  king  at  Reims  without  much  opposi- 
tion (May  29,  1328).  On  the  25th  of  May  following 
he  arrested  and  sent  to  the  gallows  Remy,  the 
treasurer  of  Charles  IV. 

Louis,  Count  of  Flanders,  was  at  that  time  engaged 
in  putting  down  a  rebellion  which  had  broken  out 
amongst  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  part  of  his 
domains,  chiefly  at  Bruges  and  in  the  neighbourhood. 
He  was  present  at  the  consecration  of  Philip  de 
Valois,  and  begged  for  his  assistance  against  the 
rebels.  The  King  of  France  readily  complied  with 
the  wishes  of  his  vassal,  and  the  rendezvous  of  the 
army  was  fixed  at  Arras  on  the  festival  of  St. 
Magdalen.  Out  of  rivalry  against  Bruges,  Ghent 
sided  with  the  count  ;  but  sixteen  thousand  Flemings 
marched  upon  Cassel  and  pitched  their  tents  on  the 
summit  of  the  hill  where  that  town  is  situated  ;  they 
had  hoisted  a  huge  banner,  on  which  was  painted  a 
cock  with  the  motto : 

*'  Quand  ce  coq  ici  chantera, 
Le  roi  trotive  {ihQ  found,  i.e.,  pretended  king)  ci  entrera." 

They  occupied  an  unassailable  position.  In  order 
to  compel  them  to  leave  it,  Philip  sent  some  forces, 
which  laid  waste  the  territory  of  Bruges.  The  leader 
of  the  rebels,  named  Zanekin  (Johnny-kin,  little 
John),  not  being  able  to  restrain  the  ardour  of  his 
men,  determined  upon  offering  battle  to  the  French  ; 
but  he  made  use,  in  the  first  place,  of  a  stratagem 
which  would  enable  him  to  judge  how  far  they  were 
prepared,  and  whether  the  victory  which  the  Flemings 


BATTLE   OF   CASSEL.  165 

were  confident  of  gaining  would  be  an  easy  one. 
Disguising  himself  as  a  fishmonger,  he  penetrated 
into  the  French  camp,  and  found  the  leaders  and 
barons  enjo3'ing  themselves  as  if  no  danger  was  near 
at  hand.  The  Flemings  took  advantage  of  this,  and 
rushed  upon  the  French  camp.  It  was  three  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  ;  the  knights  were  engaged  in 
playing  at  dice,  and  the  soldiers  were  resting  around 
the  heaps  of  forage,  laughing  and  telling  humorous 
anecdotes.  The  king,  who  had  just  dined  and  was 
enjoying  his  siesta,  fortunately  received  from  his 
confessor  news  that  the  camp  was  being  attacked.  He 
got  on  horseback  half  armed,  and  the  knights  rallied 
around  him.  The  marshals  of  the  army  were  in 
readiness  ;  they  bore  the  first  brunt,  and  gave  time 
for  the  main  body  to  come  up.  The  incidents  which 
had  formerly  taken  place  at  Mons-en-Puelle  were 
now  repeated.  The  Flemish  showed  exactly  the 
same  hurry,  and  the  French  the  same  want  of  fore- 
thought. 

"  And  on  a  day  they  of  the  garrison  of  Cassel  de- 
parted out  to  the  intent  to  have  discomfited  the  king 
and  all  his  host.  And  they  came  privily,  without  any 
noise,  in  three  batayles  well  ordered  ;  whereof  the 
first  batayle  took  the  way  to  the  king's  tents,  and  it 
was  a  fair  grace  that  the  king  had  not  been  taken,  for 
he  was  at  supper,  and  all  his  company,  and  thought 
nothing  of  them  ;  and  the  other  batayle  took  the  strait 
way  to  the  tents  of  the  King  of  Behaygne  (Bohemia), 
and  in  manner  they  found  him  in  like  case  ;  and  the 
third  bata)-le  went  to  the  tents  of  the  Earl  of  Hainault, 
and    in   likewise  had   near  taken  him.     These  hosts 


l66  -  DEFEAT   OF   THE   FLEMINGS. 

came  so  peaceably  to  the  tents,  that  with  much  pain 
they  of  the  host  could  awe  them,  whereby  all  the 
lords  and  their  people  had  been  slain,  and  the  more 
grace  of  God  had  not  been  ;  but  in  manner  by  miracle 
of  God  these  lords  discomfited  all  three  batayles,  each 
batayle  all  by  itself,  all  in  one  hour.  In  such  wise,  that 
out  of  sixteen  thousand  Flemings  there  escaped  never 
a  person,  captains  and  all  were  slain.  And  the  king 
and  lords  of  France  knew  not  one  of  another,  nor 
what  they  had  done,  till  all  was  finished  and  atchieved  ; 
for  they,  in  three  sundry  parties,  one  from  another ; 
but  as  for  the  Flemings,  there  was  not  one  left  alive, 
but  all  lay  dead  on  heaps,  one  upon  another,  in  the 
said  three  sundry  places."  ^ 

The  fact  is,  that  either  from  prudence  or  pride  of 
displaying  their  accoutrements,  the  Flemings,  though 
all  infantry,  had  taken  into  their  heads  to  wear  the 
heavy  armour  usually  worn  by  cavalry  troops.  They 
were  well  protected  no  doubt,  but  could  not  move. 
The  Count  of  Flanders,  on  his  return  home,  put  to  death 
ten  thousand  more  of  the  rebels  in  three  days.  Philip 
de  Valois  came  back  to  France  followed  by  fifteen 
hundred  hostages.  "  I  have  worked  for  you,"  said  he, 
proudly  to  the  Count,  "  I  have  worked  at  my  own  ex- 
pense, and  at  that  of  my  barons  ;  I  restore  to  you 
your  estates  conquered  back  and  in  peace  ;  look  to  it 
that  justice  be  kept  there,  and  that  I  be  not  obliged  to 
return  on  account  of  any  failure  on  your  part  ;  for  if  I 
am  obliged  to  return,  it  will  be  your  loss  and  my 
profit." 

These  words  commended  themselves  so  thoroughly  to 

*  Froissart. 


FROISSART.  167 

the  attention  of  the  Count  of  Flanders  that  he  estab- 
lished in  his  dominions  the  reign  of  terror — inquests, 
confiscations,  tortures  of  every  kind  were  the  order  of 
the  day  ;  the  rcbelHous  cities  lost  their  privileges  and 
were  dismantled.  The  military  exploits  of  Philip  VI. 
seemed,  even  in  the  eyes  of  the  English,  to  confirm  his 
pretensions  as  the  lawful  King  of  France.  Edward 
III.  came  over  to  Paris,  did  homage  for  the  Duchy  of 
Guienne,  and  returned  home  marvelling  at  the  high 
state  of  the  Court  of  France.  Surrounded  by  an 
array  of  kings,  princes,  and  barons,  Philip  gave  a  series 
of  splendid  entertainments,  which,  if  they  ruined  the 
country,  secured  for  the  monarch  the  reputation  of 
being  the  greatest  sovereign  in  Christendom. 

Wars  and  tournaments,  festivities  and  deeds  of  high 
emprise,  treaties  and  marriages  ; — what  writer  would  be 
found  to  celebrate  worthily  the  fas/i  of  the  decaying 
Middle  Ages?  Villehardouin  and  Joinville  had  sung 
of  the  Crusades,  the  chronicles  of  Saint  Denis  origi- 
nated, as  some  suppose,  by  Suger,  were  a  kind  of 
official  record  of  events  ;  but  it  needed  some  poetical 
imagination  to  delineate  the  life  and  civilization  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  Froissart  presented  himself,  and 
has  won  immortality,  thanks  to  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable chronicles  on  record.  Gifted  with  a  real 
passion  for  observing,  knowing  and  relating  all  that 
was  worth  attention,  we  fancy  we  can  see  him  travel- 
ling from  spot  to  spot,  making  friends  everywhere  by 
his  agreeable  manners,  his  lively  temperament,  his 
talent  as  a  poet,  and  availing  himself  of  the  o^ium 
cum  dignitate  which  he  enjoyed  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  notes  of  all  the  deeds  of  valour  and  chivalry 


l68  FROISSART. 

which  were  performed  throughout  the  battlefields  of 
Europe.  His  own  declaration  to  that  effect  is  quite 
characteristic  : 

"  Now  consider  you  who  have  read  my  book,  or 
who  read  it  now,  or  purpose  reading  it,  or  who  will 
hear  it  read,  consider,  I  say,  how  I  can  have  known  or 
collected  so  many  facts  of  which  I  treat,  and  which  I 
propose  in  so  many  parts  ;  and,  to  inform  you  of  the 
truth,  I  began  early,  at  the  age  of  twenty  ;  I  likewise 
came  into  the  world  with  high  deeds  and  adventures  ; 
in  these,  also,  I  took  more  delight  than  in  any  other 
things.  ...  I  travelled  throughout  the  greater  part  of 
Christendom,  and  wherever  I  went  I  enquired  of 
ancient  knights  and  squires  who  had  taken  part  in 
deeds  of  arms,  and  knew  how  to  speak  properly  of 
them,  and  also  of  certain  trustworthy  heralds,  with 
the  view  of  verifying  and  justifying  all  these  matters. 
Thus  it  is  that  I  have  collected  this  high  and  noble 
history  ,  .  .  and,  by  the  grace  of  God,  I  shall  continue 
it  as  long  as  I  live  ;  for  the  more  I  am  in  it,  and  the 
more  I  work  at  it,  the  more  it  pleases  me  ;  for  just  as 
the  gentle  knight  or  squire  who  loves  arms  becomes 
perfect  by  persevering  and  continuing  in  the  same,  so 
I  become  apt  and  I  enjoy  the  more  I  work  and  toil 
on  this  matter." 

The  reader  must  not  seek  in  the  pages  of  Froissart 
for  that  spirit  of  patriotism  which  imparts  to  history 
its  highest  value,  and  makes  it  so  instructive.  Although 
using  the  French  tongueas  the  medium  through  which 
to  address  the  public,  Froissart  cannot  be  called  a 
Frencl"!  chronicler  ;  nay,  it  is  almost  a  subject  of  as- 
tonishment that  he  did  not  show  greater  partiality  for 


FROISSART. 


169 


the  English.  The  fact  is,  he  was  the  historian  of  chi- 
valry, not  of  one  sini^le  nation,  and  provided  he  could 
record  the  catastrophes  of  tournaments,  battles,  or 
other  such  daring  exploits,  his  motto  was  : 

"  Tros  Rutulusve  fuat,  nullo  discrimine  habebo. '' 

It  may  further  be  remarked,  in  connection  with  Frois- 


FROISSART. 


sart,  that  if  all  the  splendours  of  feudal  society  revive 
in  his  pages  yet  they  are  the  splendours  of  an  order 
of  things  on  the  verge  of  decay.  Villchardouin  and 
Joinville  described  the  power  of  chivalry  ;  Froissart 
gives  us  its  mere  brilliancy,  its  romance,  if  we  may  say 
SO. 


170  SIR   JOHN   BOURCHIER    ON   HISTORY. 

We  shall  have  many  an  extract  to  quote  from  him 
whom  M.  Michelet  designates  as  the  Walter  Scott  of 
the  Middle  Ages.  By  way  of  conclusion  to  the  pre- 
sent chapter  we  cannot  do  better  than  transcribe  a 
paragraph  from  his  English  translator,  Sir  John 
Bourchier,  Lord  Berners  : 

"The  most  profitable  thing  in  the  world  for  the 
institution  of  the  human  life  is  history.  The  con- 
tinual reading  thereof  maketh  young  men  equal  in 
prudence  to  old  men,  and  to  old  fathers  stricken  in 
age  it  ministereth  experience  of  things.  More,  it 
yieldeth  private  persons  worthy  of  dignity,  rule,  and 
governance  ;  it  compelleth  the  emperors,  high  rulers, 
and  governors  to  do  noble  deeds,  to  the  end  they  may 
obtain  immortal  glory  •  it  exciteth,  moveth,  and 
stirreth  the  strong  hardy  warriors  for  the  great  laud 
they  have  after  they  be  dead,  promptly  to  go  in  hand 
with  great  and  hard  perils,  in  defence  of  their  countr\-; 
and  it  prohibitcth  reprovable  persons  to  do  mischie- 
vous deeds,  for  fear  of  infamy  and  shame." 

If  such  be  the  uses  of  history,  what  a  fund  of  moral 
instruction  can  be  obtained  from  the  events  of  that 
tragic  period  which,  beginning  with  the  reign  of 
Philip  VI.  and  ending  with  that  of  Charles  VII., 
brought  France  and  England  as  bitter  enemies  on  the 
battle-field,  and  known  by  the  name  of  ^/le  Hundred 
Years'  Wai  ! 


IX. 


PHILIP    VI.   (concluded)  —  THE    HUNDRED   YEARS' 
WAR. 

(1328-I350.) 

The  Hundred  Years'  War  began,  it  may  be  said,  in 
Flanders.  Philip  VI.,  who  was  constantly  endeavour- 
ing to  bring  Edward  III.  into  trouble,  and  to  check 
the  power  of  England,  had  for  a  long  time  sys- 
tematically stirred  up  the  Scotch  against  the  English, 
and,  so  far  as  it  was  possible  for  him,  helped  them  in 
their  attempt  to  assert  their  independence.  After  a 
protracted  contest,  Edward  was  successful,  and  having 
defeated  the  Scotch,  he  imrhediately  set  to  work  to 
find  an  opportunity  of  attacking  France,  That  oppor- 
tunity soon  presented  itself. 

Robert,  prince  of  the  royal  blood  by  his  marriage 
with  one  of  the  daughters  of  Charles  IV.,  claimed  the 
countship  of  Artois,  which  was  retained  by  his  aunt, 
and  after  her  decease,  by  her  daughters.  In  order  to 
justify  his  pretensions,  he  forged  certain  documents, 
and  bribed  false  witnesses  to  give  evidence  in  his 
favour.  The  lawsuit  resulting  from  this  affair  showed 
that  Robert  had  in  all  probability  poisoned  his  aunt 
and  one  of  his  cousins.     Condemned  bv  the  court  of 


172  IHE    BREWER   ARTEVELDT, 

peers  to  lose  his  domains  and  to  banishment  for 
Hfe  (1332),  Robert  sought  refuge  in  Brabant,  and 
with  the  view  of  avenging  himself,  he  practised  cer- 
tain incantations  which  were  to  end  in  the  death  of 
John,  the  son  of  the  King  of  France.  This  new 
misdeed  was  discovered,  and  would  have  resuUed  in 
a  fresh  trial  on  the  ground  of  sorcery.  Now  in  those 
days  a  person  convicted  of  that  supposed  crime  was 
invariably  put  to  death.  Thoroughly  frightened, 
Robert  disguised  himself,  went  over  to  England, 
presented  himself  at  the  court  of  Edward  III.,  and 
urged  him  to  go  to  war  against  France. 

The  Count  of  Flanders,  Louis  de  Nevers,  vassal, 
as  such,  of  Philip  VI.,  had  about  this  time  managed, 
unfortunately,  to  excite  the  animosity  of  his  subjects 
by  extorting  money  out  of  them,  depriving  them 
of  their  privileges,  and  punishing  severely  all  those 
who  offered  any  resistance.  Commercial  interests 
bound  England  and  Flanders  closely  together,  so 
that  the  policy  of  both  countres  was  identical.  Led 
by  a  popular  chief,  the  Brewer  Arteveldt,  the  Flemings 
drove  away  the  Count  Louis,  and  invoked  the  help 
of  Edward  III.  ^1336).  They  would  have  felt  some 
scruple  in  revolting  against  their  suzerain,  the  King  of 
France  ;  accordingly  Arteveldt  persuaded  Edward  to 
assume  the  title  which  he  had  often  himself  claimed 
as  his  own  ;  and  thus  in  attacking  Philip  VL,  they 
might  say  they  were  taking  up  arms  against  a  pre- 
tender and  usurper. 

The  war  in  Flanders  was  fruitless  ;  if  the  P'rench 
were  ignominious!)'  defeated  in  a  naval  engagement 
at   the   Sluys,  they   proved   more  fortunate   at   Saint 


^ 


r       C 


THE   DUCHY  OF  BRITTANY.  173 

Omer,  and  Edward  met  with  a  chock  before  Tournay 
(1340).  A  truce  was  concluded,  and  when  hostiUtics 
recommenced,  it  was  Brittany  and  no  longer  Flanders 
which  supplied  the  pretext.  As  for  Arteveldt,  he  came 
to  a  tragic  end.  Seeing  himself  on  the  point  of  being 
discomfited,  he  attempted  to  give  the  sovereignty  of 
Flanders  to  the  young  Prince  of  Wales,  thus  de- 
frauding the  Count  of  Flanders  of  his  rights  ;  but 
his  scheme  failed,  and  he  was  massacred  at  Ghent  by 
the  populace  in  1345. 

The  succession  to  the  Duchy  of  Brittany  must  now 
be  described,  as  it  led  to  a  renewal  of  hostilities  between 
France  and  England.  The  Duke,  John  III.,  had  died 
childless,  leaving  a  niece  and  a  brother.  The  niece, 
daughter  of  an  elder  brother,  had  married  Charles  of 
Blois,  a  prince  of  the  royal  family  of  France  ;  she 
claimed  the  Duchy  as  her  lawful  inheritance,  and  had 
on  her  side  Philip  VL,  and  the  French  portion  of  the 
province.  The  competitor,  John  IV.  de  Montfoit, 
brother  of  the  late  duke,  was  supported  by  the 
Breton  Bretonnants  and  the  King  of  England.  M. 
Michelet  has  given  us  in  his  history  of  France  a 
curious  portrait  of  Charles  of  Blois,  the  nominee  of 
Philip  ;  it  is  worth  quoting  here  : 

"  He  went  to  confession  morning  and  evening,  and 
heard  four  or  five  masses  daily.  He  never  travelled 
except  accompanied  by  a  chaplain,  who  carried  about 
with  him  some  bread,  wine,  and  water,  in  order  to 
celebrate  mass  on  the  way.  If  he  saw  a  priest  pass  by, 
he  jumped  from  his  horse  into  the  mud.  He  several 
times  went  barefooted  in  the  snow  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
the  shrine  of  Saint  Yves,  the  great  saint  of  Brittan\'.  He 


174 


CHARLES   OF  BLOIS. 


used  to  put  pebbles  in  his  shoes,  would  not  allow  the 
vermin  to  be  removed  from  his  hair-cloth,  fastened 
round  his  waist  three  ropes  with  knots  which  entered 
into  his  flesh  so  that  it  was  piteous  to  behold.  When 
he  said  his  prayers,  he  struck  his  breast  so  furiously 
that  he  became  pale  and  then  as  green.  One  day  he 
stopped  wathin  two  yards  of  the  enemy  and  ran  a 
great  danger,  because  he  wanted  to  hear  mass.  At  the 
siege  of  Quimper,  his  soldiers  were  on  the  point  of 
being  overtaken  by  the  tide  *  If  it  is  the  will  of  God,' 
said  he,  '  the  tide  can  do  us  no  harm.'  The  town  was 
taken  by  storm,  and  a  good  number  of  the  inhabi- 
tants put  to  the  sword.  Charles  de  Blois  went  first  to 
the  cathedral  to  thank  God.  He  then  stopped  the 
massacre." 

The  city  of  Nantes  had  been  besieged  by  the 
French  ;  the  Count  de  Montfort,  made  prisoner,  was 
taken  to  Paris,  and  shut  up  in  the  tower  of  the 
Louvre.  His  wife  then  gave  proof  of  an  energy  and 
determination  which  cannot  be  praised  too  much,  and 
Froissart  seems  to  take  delight  in  relating  her  deeds 
of  courage  and  of  daring.  The  episodes  of  the  siege 
of  Rennes  and  of  Hennebon  may  be  appropriately 
quoted  as  instances  both  of  Jeanne  de  Montfort's 
intrepidity  and  of  the  chronicler's  picturesque  talent. 

"  When  the  sweet  season  of  summer  approached, 
the  lords  of  France,  and  divers  others,  drew  towards 
Bretayne  with  a  great  host,  to  aid  Sir  Charles  de 
Blois  to  recover  the  residue  of  the  Duchy  of  Bretayne. 
They  found  Sir  Charles  de  Blois  in  Nantes  ;  then 
they  determined  to  lay  siege  to  Rennes  ;  the  Countess 
of  Mountfort  had  well  prevented  the  matter,  and  had 


SIEGE    OF   HENNEBON.  175 

set  there  for  captain  Sir  William  of  Cadudall  Breton. 
The    lords  of    France    came   thither,  an  1  did    much 
trouble  with  assaults  ;  howbeit  they  within  defended 
themselves  so  valiantly,  that  their  enemies  lost  more 
than  they  won.  .  .  .  When   the  city   of  Renncs   was 
given  up,  the  burgesses  made  their  homage  and  fealty 
to  the  lord,  Charles  of  Blois  ;  then   he  was  counselled 
to  go  and    lay  siege  to    Hennebon.  .  .  .  When  the 
countess    and    her    company    understood    that    the 
Frenchmen  were  coming  to  lay  siege  to  the  town  of 
Hennebon,   then    it    was    commanded    to  sound   the 
watch-bell   alarm,  and  every  man    to  be   armed  and 
draw  to  their  defence,  .  .  .  The  countess  herself  wore 
harness  on  her  body,  and  rode  on  a  good  courser  from 
street  to  street,  desiring  her  people  to  make  good  de- 
fence ;  and  she  caused  damosels  and  other  women  to 
cut  short  their  kyrtels,  and  to  carry  stones  and  pots 
full  of  chalk  to   the  walls  to   be  cast   down  to  their 
enemies. 

"  This  lady  did  then  a  hardy  enterprise  ;  she 
mounted  up  to  the  height  of  a  tower,  to  see  how  the 
Frenchmen  were  ordered  without ;  she  saw  that  all  the 
lords,  and  all  other  people  of  the  host,  were  all  gone 
out  of  their  field  to  the  assault ;  then  she  took  again 
her  courser,  armed  as  she  was,  and  caused  300  men 
on  horseback  to  be  ready,  and  she  went  with  them  to 
another  gate  where  there  was  no  assault  ;  she  issued 
out  and  her  company,  and  dashed  into  the  French 
lodgings,  and  cut  down  tents,  and  set  fire  to  their 
lodgings  ;  she  found  no  defence  there,  but  a  certain 
of  varlets  and  boys,  who  ran  away.  When  the  lords 
of  France  looked  behind  them,  and  saw  their  lodgings 


176  TRUCE   OF  1346. 

a-fire,  and  heard  the  cry  and  noise  there,  they  re- 
turned to  the  field  crying,  'Treason!  treason!'  so 
that  all  the  assault  was  left.  When  the  countess  saw 
that,  she  drew  together  her  company,  and  when  she 
saw  she  could  not  enter  again  into  the  town  without 
great  damage,  she  took  another  way,  and  went  to  the 
castle  of  Brest,  which  was  not  far  thence.  .  .  ,  They 
of  the  town  (of  Hennebon)  wist  not  where  the 
countess  was  become,  whereof  they  were  in  great 
trouble,  for  it  was  five  days  or  they  heard  any 
tidings.  The  countess  did  so  much  at  Brest,  that  she 
got  togetlier  a  five  hundred  spears,  and  then  about 
midnight  she  separated  from  Brest,  and  by  the  sun 
rising,  she  came  along  by  the  one  side  of  the  host, 
and  came  to  one  of  the  gates  of  Hennebon,  the  which 
was  opened  for  her,  and  therein  she  entered,  and  all 
her  company,  with  great  noise  of  trumpets.  .  .  ."  ^ 
At  last  a  succour  from  the  English  caused  the  siege 
to  be  raised. 

The  Kings  of  France  and  of  England  were  gradu- 
ally led  to  take  an  active  personal  share  in  the  war  ; 
Edward  III.  came  to  Brittany  in  1342,  and  was 
present  at  the  sieges  of  V^anncs,  Rennes,  and  Nantes. 
In  the  meanwhile  John  of  Normandy  gathered  to- 
gether an  army  of  upwards  of  forty  thousand  men, 
besides  a  large  number  of  knights  and  barons.  The 
forces  met  at  Malestroit,  but  the  deficiency  of  pro- 
visions and  the  inclemency  of  the  weather  had  caused 
such  an  amount  of  sickness  on  both  sides,  that  the 
Papal  legates  obtained  (January  19,  1343)  a  truce 
which  was  to  last  till  Michaelmas,  1346. 

'  Hook  i.  caps.  79,  80. 


DEATH   OF   CLISSON.  lyj 

The  treachery  of  which  the  French  king  was  guilty 
towards  CHsson  and  fourteen  other  Breton  lords 
contributed  much  to  strengthen  Edw'ard's  cause  in 
France.  CHsson  had  been  a  prisoner  in  England  and 
had  been  handsomely  treated — too  handsomely,  per- 
haps. It  is  said  that  the  Earl  of  Salisbury,  in  order 
to  avenge  himself  on  Edward  for  seducing  his  wife, 
informed  Philip  of  a  secret  agreement  concluded 
between  his  master  and  CHsson.  The  King  of  France 
immediately  invnted  the  fifteen  Bretons  to  a  tourna- 
ment, had  them  arrested  and  put  to  death  without  a 
trial.  The  brother  of  one  of  them,  who  happened  to 
be  a  priest,  was  exposed  on  a  scaffold  and  stoned  to 
death  by  the  mob.  A  short  time  after  the  King  of 
France  despatched  in  the  same  summary  w^ay  three 
barons  of  Normandy  ;  he  tried  in  vain  to  seize  upon 
the  Count  d'Harcourt  who  contrived,  however,  to 
escape,  and  proved  as  useful  to  the  English  as  Robert 
d'Artois  had  been. 

Edward  resolved  upon  avenging  the  death  of 
CHsson,  and  the  war  recommenced  more  determinately 
than  before.  The  Earl  of  Derby  landed  in  Guienne, 
took  possession  of  La  Reole  and  Port  Sainte  Marie, 
and  advanced  as  far  as  Angouleme.  The  King  of 
England  had  collected  a  powerful  fleet  and  wished  to 
penetrate  into  Southern  France,  but  a  storm  drove 
him  back  to  the  British  Channel,  and  acting  on  the 
advice  of  the  Count  d'Harcourt,  he  disembarked  with 
an  army  of  upwards  of  thirty  thousand  men  at  La 
Hougue  Saint  Vast  on  July  22, 1346,  and  after  having 
made  himself  master  of  a  few  small  towns,  he  arrived 
under  the  walls  of  Caen  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month. 


178  THE   ENGLISH  IN  FRANCE. 

"  When  they  of  the  town  who  were  ready  in  the 
field  saw  these  three  batayles  coming  in  good  order, 
with  their  banners  and  standards  waving  in  the  wind, 
and  the  archers,  the  which  they  had  not  been  accus- 
tomed to  see,  they  were  sore  afraid,  and  fled  away 
toward  the  town  without  any  order  or  good  array,  for 
all  that  the  constable  could  do  ;  then  the  Englishmen 
pursued  them  eagerly.  When  the  constable  and  the 
Earl  Tankerville  saw  that,  they  took  a  gate  at  the 
entry  and  saved  themselves  and  certain  with  them,  for 
the  Englishmen  were  entered  into  the  town  ;  some  of 
the  knights  and  squires  of  France,  such  as  knew  the 
way  to  the  castle  went  thither,  and  the  captain  there 
received  them  all,  for  the  castle  was  large.  The 
Englishmen  in  the  chase  slew  many,  for  they  took 
none  to  mercy."  ^ 

At  last  the  citizens  took  courage,  defended  them- 
selves in  their  houses,  and  upwards  of  five  hundred 
Englishmen  had  been  killed  or  wounded,  when 
Edward  ordered  the  massacre  to  cease,  promising 
quarter  to  every  one.  Louviers,  Pont  de  I'Arche, 
Poissy,  Vernon,  and  Saint  Germain  fell  into  the  power 
of  the  F^nglish  who  came  within  sight  of  Paris  having 
burnt  Bourg  la  Reine  and  Saint  Cloud. 

In  the  meanwhile  Philip  had  got  together  a  large 
army,  and  was  marching  against  the  enemy.  Edward 
re-crossed  the  Seine  at  Poissy,  and  retreated  towards 
the  district  of  Ponthieu,  wishing  to  put  himself  in 
safety  behind  the  Somme.  All  the  fords  of  this 
river  were  in  the  hands  of  the  French,  and  the  one  at 
Blanquetaque,  more  especiall}^  was  defended  by  one 

'  Froissarl,  chapter  124. 


BATTLE  OF  CRESSY.  lyg 

thousand  men-at-arms  and  five  thousand  Genoese 
archers.  Edward  forced  his  way  through  it,  but  seeing 
that  he  could  not  retreat  any  further,  he  halted,  pre- 
pared for  a  battle  and  drew  up  his  forces  on  the  slope 
of  a  hillock  near  Cressy  (August  27,  1346). 

"  The  Englishmen,  who  were  in  three  batayles, 
lying  on  the  ground  to  rest  them,  as  soon  as  they  saw 
the  Frenchmen  approach,  they  rose  upon  their  feet, 
fair  and  easily,  without  any  haste,  and  arranged  their 
batayles.  .  .  The  lords  and  knights  of  France  came 
not  to  the  assembly  together,  in  good  order,  for  some 
came  before,  and  some  came  after,  in  such  haste  and 
evil  order,  that  one  of  them  did  trouble  another. 
When  the  French  king  saw  the  Englishmen,  his  blood 
changed,  and  he  said  to  his  marshals  :  '  Make  the 
Genoese  go  before,  and  begin  the  battle  in  the  name 
of  God  and  Saint  Denis.'  There  were  of  the  Genoese 
cross-bows  about  a  fifteen  thousand,  but  they  were  so 
weary  of  going  a-foot  that  day,  a  six  leagues,  armed 
with  their  cross-bows,  that  they  said  to  their  con- 
stables :  '  We  be  not  well  ordered  to  fight  this  day, 
for  we  be  not  in  the  case  to  do  any  great  deed  of  arms; 
we  have  more  need  of  rest'  Their  words  came  to  the 
Earl  of  Alengon,  who  said  :  'A  man  is  well  at  ease 
to  be  charged  with  such  a  sort  of  rascals,  to  be  faint 
and  fail  now  at  most  need.'  z^Vlso  the  same  season 
there  fell  a  great  rain  and  an  eclipse,  with  a  terrible 
thunder,  and  before  the  rain  there  came  flying  over 
both  batayles  a  great  number  of  crows,  for  fear  of  the 
tempest  coming.  Then  anon  the  air  began  to  wax 
clear,  and  the  sun  to  shine  fair  and  bright,  the  which 
was  right  in  the  Frenchmen's  eyes,  and  on  the  English- 


l8o  THE    GENOESE   ARCHERS. 

men's  backs.  .  .  .  The  English  archers  stepped  for- 
ward one  pace,  and  let  fly  their  arrows  so  wholly  and 
so  thick,  that  it  seemed  snow  ;  when  the  Genoese 
felt  the  arrows  piercing  through  heads,  arms,  and 
breasts,  many  of  them  cast  down  their  cross-bows,  and 
did  cut  their  strings,  and  returned  discomfited.  When 
the  French  king  saw  them  fly  away,  he  said  :  '  Slay 
these  rascals,  for  they  shall  let  and  trouble  us  without 
reason.'  Then  ye  should  have  seen  the  men-at-arms 
dash  in  among  them,  and  killed  a  great  number  of 
them  ;  and  ever  still  the  Englishmen  shot  where  as 
they  saw  thicker  press.  The  sharp  arrows  ran  into 
the  men-at-arms,  and  into  their  horses,  and  many  fell, 
horse  and  men,  amongst  the  Genoese,  and  when  they 
were  down,  they  could  not  rise  again  ;  the  press  was 
so  thick  that  one  overthrew  another  "  (book  i.  chap. 

130). 

The  Genoese  fought  with  considerable  determina- 
tion ;  but  besides  the  fact  that  they  were  tired  out  by 
a  long  march,  the  heavy  rain  had  utterly  spoilt  the 
strings  of  their  cross-bows,  and  unfitted  them  for  ser- 
vice. The  English  archers,  more  prudent,  had 
unfastened  theirs,  and  concealed  them  in  their  head- 
dresses {chaperons).  The  order  given  by  King  Philip 
to  sla\'  the  Genoese  mercenaries  created,  as  may  well 
be  imagined,  the  greatest  confusion,  and  the  English 
took  advantage  of  this  first  incident  in  the  day's 
adventures.  One  of  the  most  exciting  episodes  con- 
nected with  the  battle  of  Cressy  is  the  one  of  which 
the  old  King  of  Bohemia  was  the  hero:  we  give  it  here 
as  we  find  it  in  Froissart  : 

"  The    valiant    King    of  Bohemia,    called   John    of 


DEATH  OF   THE   KING    OF  BOHEMIA.  l8l 

Luxemburgh,  son  to  the  noble  emperor  Henry  of 
Luxemburgh,  for  all  that  he  was  nigh  blind,  when  he 
understood  the  order  of  the  batayle,  he  said  to  them 
about  him  :  '  Where  is  the  Lord  Charles,  my  son  ? ' 
His  men  said  :  '  Sir,  we  cannot  tell,  we  think  he  be 
fighting  ; '  then  he  said  :  '  Sirs,  ye  are  my  men,  my 
companions  and  friends  in  this  journey  {joiirnee)  ; 
I  require  you  bring  me  so  far  forward,  that  I  may 
strike  one  stroke  with  my  sword.'  They  said  they 
would  do  his  commandment,  and  to  the  intent  that 
they  should  not  lose  him  in  the  press,  they  tied  all 
the  reins  of  their  bridles  each  to  other,  and  set  the 
king  before  to  accomplish  his  desire,  and  so  they  went 
on  their  enemies.  The  Lord  Charles  of  Bohemia,  his 
son,  who  wrote  himself  King  of  Bohemia,  and  bore 
the  arms,  he  came  in  good  order  to  the  batayle  ;  but 
when  he  saw  that  the  matter  went  awry  on  their 
party,  he  departed,  I  cannot  tell  you  which  way.  The 
king,  his  father,  was  so  far  forward,  that  he  strake  a 
stroke  with  his  sword,  yea,  and  more  than  four,  and 
fought  valiantly,  and  so  did  his  company  ;  and  they 
adventured  themselves  so  forward  that  they  were 
there  all  slain,  and  the  next  day  they  were  found  in 
the  place  about  the  king,  and  all  their  horses  tied  each 
to  other  "  {ibid.). 

Philip  VI.  was  hurried  off  the  field  of  battle  after 
having  experienced  a  defeat  such  as  had  never  been 
heard  of  before.  Eleven  princes,  eighty  knights- 
bannerets,  twelve  hundred  knights,  and  thirty  thousand 
soldiers  were  killed.  Accompanied  by  five  gentlemen, 
the  King  of  France  arrived  during  the  night  before 
the  castle  of  Broye,  and  knocking  at  the  gates,  ex- 


l82  SIEGE    OF   CALAIS. 

claimed  :  "Open  !  open  !  It  is  the  unfortunate  King  of 
France ! "  The  next  day  the  comviunes  of  Rouen  and  of 
Beauvais,  the  retainers  of  the  Archbishop  of  Rouen,  and 
the  troops  of  the  Grand  Prior  of  France,  knowing  what 
had  happened,  came  to  take  part  in  the  battle  ;  they 
had  lost  their  way.  The  English  fell  upon  them  and 
put  them  to  the  sword. 

Edward  had  resolved  to  carry  on  to  a  successful 
issue  the  work  so  triumphantly  begun  ;  he  led  his 
army  to  Calais  and  besieged  the  town  (September  3, 
1346).  The  only  way  to  take  it  was  by  famine,  for  the 
walls  were  strong  beyond  the  possibility  of  making  a 
breach  in  them.  With  the  prospect  of  spending  several 
months,  perhaps  the  whole  winter  under  the  fortifica.- 
tions  of  Calais,  the  English  set  to  work  to  build  a 
regular  town  where  they  settled  themselves  most 
comfortably,  thoroughly  provided  with,  not  only  the 
necessaries,  but  the  luxuries  of  life.  "  There  was,"  says 
Froissart,  "every  thing  to  sell,  and  a  market  place  to 
be  kept  every  Tuesday  and  Saturday  for  flesh  and  fish, 
mercery  ware,  houses  for  cloth,  for  bread,  wine,  and  all 
other  things  necessary,  such  as  came  out  of  England 
or  out  of  Flanders,  and  they  might  buy  what  they 
list"  (cap.  133). 

Philip  \T.  of  course  resolved  to  do  what  he  could 
for  the  relief  of  Calais,  and  he  set  to  work  to  collect 
an  army.  Unfortunately,  from  different  causes,  the 
mustering  of  the  troops  took  a  very  long  time,  and  it 
was  only  in  July,  1347,  that  they  were  ready  ;  then  all 
the  approaches  to  the  town  were  cither  impracticable 
from  the  state  of  the  ground,  or  occupied  by  the 
Engli.'^h  ;  so  that  the   French  army  had   to  disperse 


EUSTACHE   DE    SAINT   PIERRE.  183 

after  having  vainl}-  displayed  their  banners  and  stan- 
dards before  the  unfortunate  citizens  who,  reduced  to 
the  last  extremity,  saw  themselves  obliged  to  sur- 
render at  discretion.  Edward  required  that  six  of 
the  leading  citizens  should  come  to  his  camp  in  their 
shirts,  with  halters  round  their  necks,  bringing  him 
the  keys  of  the  castle  and  of  the  town,  and  imploring 
his  mercy.  Eustache  de  Saint  Pierre,  and  five  friends 
and  relatives  of  his  volunteered  to  plead  on  behalf  of 
their  fellow  citizens,  and  went  off  to  the  camp  under 
the  conduct  of  Walter  de  Manny. 

"When  Sir  Walter  presented  these  burgesses  to  the 
king,  they  knelt  down  and  held  up  their  hands  and 
said  :  '  Gentle  king,  behold  here  we  six,  who  were 
burgesses  of  Calais,  and  great  merchants :  we  have 
brought  to  you  the  keys  of  the  town  and  of  the 
castle,  and  we  submit  ourselves  clearly  into  your  will 
and  pleasure,  to  save  the  residue  of  the  people  of 
Calais,  who  have  suffered  great  pain.  Sir,  we  beseech 
your  grace  to  have  mercy  and  pity  on  us,  through 
your  high  nobleness.'  Then  all  the  earls  and  barons, 
and  other  that  were  there,  wept  for  pity.  The  king 
looked  felly  on  them,  for  greatly  he  hated  the 
people  of  Calais  for  the  great  damages  and  displea- 
sures they  had  done  him  on  the  sea  before.  Then  he 
commanded  their  heads  to  be  stricken  off;  then  every 
man  required  the  king  for  mercy,  but  he  would  hear 
no  more  in  that  behalf  Then  Sir  Walter  de  Manny 
said:  'Noble  king,  for  God's  sake  refrain  your 
courage  ;  you  have  the  name  of  sovereign  nobleness, 
therefore  now  do  not  a  thing  that  should  blemish 
your  renown,  nor  to  give  cause  to  some  to  speak  of 


184  CALAIS   AN  ENGLISH   COLONY. 

you  villanously.  Every  man  will  say  it  is  a  great 
cruelty  to  put  to  death  such  honest  persons,  who 
by  their  own  will  put  themselves  into  your  grace  to 
save  their  company.'  Then  the  king  uryed  {tiirneiT) 
away  from  him,  and  commanded  to  send  for  the 
hangman ;  and  said  :  '  They  of  Calais  have  caused 
many  of  my  men  to  be  slain,  therefore  these  shall  die 
in  like  wise.'  Then  the  queen,  being  great  with 
child,  knelt  down,  and  sore  weeping,  said:  'Gentle 
sir,  since  I  passed  the  sea  in  great  peril,  I  have  desired 
nothing  of  you  ;  therefore  now  I  humbly  require  you, 
in  the  honour  of  the  Son  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  for 
the  love  of  me,  that  ye  will  take  mercy  of  these  six 
burgesses.'  The  king  beheld  the  queen,  and  stooc 
still  in  a  study  a  space,  and  then  said  :  '  Dame,  I 
would  you  had  been  as  now  in  some  other  place  ;  you 
make  such  request  to  me  that  I  cannot  deny  you  ; 
therefore  I  give  them  to  you,  to  do  your  pleasure 
with  them.'  Then  the  queen  caused  them  to  be 
brought  into  her  chamber,  and  made  the  halters  to  be 
taken  from  their  necks,  and  caused  them  to  be  new 
clothed,  and  gave  them  their  dinner  at  their  leisure; 
and  then  she  gave  each  of  them  six  nobles,  and  made 
them  to  be  brought  out  of  the  host  in  safe-guard,  and 
set  at  their  liberty"  (cap.  146). 

The  Calaisians  were  turned  out  of  their  city  except 
a  few  who  renounced  their  nationality,  and  preferred 
acknowledging  Edward  as  their  king  ;  Calais  became 
an  English  colony.  Edward  seemed  to  be  triumphant 
everywhere  ;  the  Scotch  had  been  defeated,  and 
Charles  de  Blois,  the  ally  of  the  King  of  France,  had 
been   made  prisoner  at   the   siege  of  La  Roche   de 


•       THE   BLACK  DEATH.  185 

Rien.  In  the  meanwhile  the  two  adversaries  were 
equally  weary  of  the  war  ;  Pope  Clement  VI.  offered 
his  mediation,  and  on  the  28th  of  September,  1347,  a 
truce  was  signed  which  was  to  last  ten  months,  each 
of  the  two  kings  retaining  possession  of  what  he 
actually  got. 

The  plague  soon  came  to  add  its  horrors  to  those 
entailed  by  war.  The  black  death,  as  it  was  called, 
after  having  visited  the  greater  part  of  Europe, 
invaded  France.  In  a  great  many  places,  the  chroni- 
cler tells  us,  out  of  twenty  persons,  as  many  as 
eighteen  were  carried  off.  The  mortality  was  such  in 
the  Paris  hospital  {Hotel- Dieu)  that  for  a  long  time 
they  transported  daily  five  hundred  corpses  in  carts 
to  the  cemetery  of  the  Innocents.  Again  on  this 
occasion  the  Jews  were  accused  of  poisoning  the 
public  fountains,  they  were  in  many  places  attacked, 
murdered,  or  burnt  alive.  One-third  of  the  whole 
population  of  Europe  died  of  the  plague,  and  in  Paris 
alone  eighty  thousand  persons  were  fatally  struck. 

These  dreadful  calamities,  according  to  all  appear- 
ances endless,  had  the  natural  effect  of  rousing  the 
people  to  a  state  of  religious  enthusiasm  bordering 
upon  frenzy.  Hence  the  Flagellants,  who  endeavoured 
to  appease  the  wrath  of  heaven  by  the  most  terrible 
acts  of  self-inflicted  mortifications.  They  bore  red 
crosses  aloft  ;  half  naked,  they  scourged  themselves 
with  whips  in  which  were  fastened  iron  nails,  and 
went  about  singing  hymns,  of  which  the  following  is 
a  specimen — 

"Or  avant,  entre  nous  tous  freres, 
Battons  nos  charognea  bien  fort 


l86  PHILIP'S   HOME   ADMINISTRATION. 

En  remembrant  la  grant  misere 

De  Dieu,  et  sa  piteuse  mort, 

Qui  fut  pris  en  la  gent  amere 

Et  vendus  et  trais  a  tort 

Et  bastu  sa  char  [chair]  vierge  et  dere  (i/.ar) 

Au  nom  de  ce  baltons  plus  fort." 

The  Flagellants  started  from  Germany,  went  to  the 
Netherlands,  and  entered  France  by  Picardy  and 
Flanders.  They  numbered  nearly  eight  hundred  thou- 
sand persons  at  Christmas  (1349).  They  originally 
recruited  their  numbers  from  the  peasants  and  the 
common  people  ;  later  on  they  were  joined  by  gen- 
tlemen, noblemen,  and  even  ladies.  When  the 
danger  was  over,  or  thought  to  be  so,  the  sense  of 
gloom  and  despair  gave  way  to  a  frantic  desire  of 
enjoying  life,  and  a  thirst  for  merriment  of  every 
description.  Nothing  was  seen  but  festivals,  mar- 
riages, and  christenings.  The  royal  family  set  the 
example  of  such  dissipation,  and  the  old  king 
married  his  son's  betrothed.  Princess  Blanche,  his 
cousin,  only  eighteen  years  of  age.  The  young 
prince  took  to  wife,  instead,  the  heiress  of  Auvergne 
and  Burgundy,  whilst  the  grandson  married  the 
daughter  of  the  Duke  de  Bourbon.  Philip  de  Valois 
died  soon  after  (1350). 

If  we  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  home  adminis- 
tration of  Philip  VI.,  we  find  several  points  which 
deserve  to  be  mentioned  here.  In  the  first  place,  let 
us  notice  the  establishment  of  the  salt  tax  {gabclle, 
from  the  German  gabe).  By  virtue  of  a  decree  dated 
March  20,  1343,  the  king  created  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Crown  a  monopoly  of  the  sale  of  salt  throughout 
the  kingdom.     Commissioners  were  appointed  whose 


TERRITORIAL    ACQUISITIONS.  187 

business  it  was  to  establish  stores  where  every  family 
was  obliged  to  supply  itself  with  salt ;  a  tax  was  fixed 
at  the  discretion  of  the  government,  and  no  one  was 
allowed  to  sell  the  quantity  left  unused  after  the 
wants  of  the  family  had  been  fairly  and  honestly  met. 
The  salt  tax  levied  temporarily  at  first,  and  sup- 
pressed for  a  time  in  1356,  was  definitely  reinstated 
by  Charles  V.,  and  only  done  away  with  in  1790. 
The  utter  incapacity  of  Philip  de  Valois  was  apparent 
from  the  reckless  deeds  to  which  his  foolish  prodi- 
gality compelled  him  to  have  recourse.  He  kept 
altering  the  coinage,  creating  fresh  taxes,  and  he  even 
confiscated  the  property  of  the  Italian  merchants 
settled  in  France. 

Important  territorial  acquisitions  must  likewise  be 
noticed.  Humbert  II.,  Count  of  Vienne,  and  known 
by  the  title  of  DaiipJiin  of  Viennois,  because  the 
family  bore  a  dolp]iin  on  their  coat  of  arms,  sold  his 
domains  to  Philip  for  120,000  florins  (1349).  One  of 
the  conditions  of  the  transaction  was  that  the  eldest 
son  of  the  King  of  France  should  ever  henceforth  be 
styled  DaiipJiin.  The  town  of  Montpellier  was  like- 
wise purchased  from  the  King  of  Majorca. 


X. 


JOHN      n.  —  THE      HUNDRED     YEARS'      WAR      (CON- 

TliNUEDj — ETIENNE    MARCEL— THE    JACQUERIE. 

(1350-1 364O 

The  reign  of  King  John  [Jean  le  Bon)  is  one  of  the 
most  tragic  and  eventful  in  the  whole  h'story  of  Mediae- 
val France.  He  was  in  point  of  character  very  much 
like  his  father — brave  but  violent,  lavish  in  his  expen- 
diture, impetuous,  and  reckless.  '' Le  Bon''  says  M- 
Michelet,  "  means  here  the  trusting,  the  prodigal,  the 
careless.  No  prince,  Indeed,  had  ever  before  him  so 
nobly  flung  away  the  money  of  the  people.  He  went 
along,  like  the  man  in  Rabelais,  eating  his  grapes  when 
they  were  still  unripe,  and  his  corn  when  it  was  grow- 
ing. He  made  money  of  everything — wasting  the 
present,  drawing  upon  the  future.  One  might  have 
fancied  that  he  did  not  suppose  he  would  live  long  in 
France.  His  great  resource  was  the  alteration  of  the 
coinage  ;  Philip  the  Fair  and  his  son,  Philip  de 
Valois,  had  had  free  recourse  to  this  form  of  bank- 
ruptcy. John  cast  them  all  in  the  shade,  and  he  went 
beyond  every  bankruptcy,  cither  royal  or  national, 
that  could  ever  take  place."  In  the  course  of  one 
year  no  less  than  eighteen  variations  took   place  in 


CHARLES    LE   MAUVAIS.  189 

the  value  of  the  coinage  ;  in  fact,  the  silver  mark  in  a 
few  months  varied  from  five  livres  five  sols  to  eleven 
livres,  that  is  to  sa\-,  at  the  rate  of  cent,  for  cent. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  arbitrary  measures,  the 
public  exchequer  was  empty,  and,  with  the  view  of 
procuring  money,  John  decided  upon  appealing  to 
the  nation.  The  States-General  were  summoned  to 
meet  at  Paris  in  1365,  but  they  produced  no  result ; 
for,  although  in  answer  to  the  numerous  complaints 
made  by  the  deputies,  some  promises  were  wrung 
from  the  king,  yet  we  do  not  find  that  they  came  to 
any  effect. 

In  the  meanwhile,  a  third  competitor  to  the  throne 
of  France  appeared  in  the  person  of  Charles  of 
Navarre,  surnamed  le  Mauvais,  from  his  turbulence 
and  his  spirit  of  intrigue.  Grandson  of  Louis  X.  on 
his  mother's  side,  Charles  k  Maiivais  might  have 
inherited  the  throne  but  for  the  Salic  law.  Till  he 
could  see  his  hopes  realized,  he  claimed  Champagne 
and  Angoumois.  This  last  province  having  been  be- 
stowed upon  the  king's  favourite,  the  Constable  de 
Lacerda,  Charles  had  him  murdered  ;  thereupon 
John  seized  the  fiefs  which  the  King  of  Navarre  had 
in  Normandy,  and  Charles  went  over  to  England 
dreading  lest  something  worse  should  happen  to  him. 

The  truce  between  France  and  England  had 
expired,  and  Edward  was  only  too  anxious  to  begin 
again  a  war  which  had  procured  to  him  such  advan- 
tages of  every  kind.  He  landed  at  Calais  in  August, 
1355,  and  ravaged  the  province  of  Artois,  whilst  his 
son,  "  The  Black  Prince,"  entered  France  by  Bor- 
deaux, and  fared  so  successfully  that  he  brought  from 


tge*  THE   STATES-GENERAL. 

Languedoc  a  thousand  waggon  loads  of  booty.  The 
inactivity  of  the  French  king  during  the  raids  of  the 
English,  and  the  inefficient  manner  in  which  he  op- 
posed their  progress  were  scandalous,  but  no  available 
funds  existed  to  carry  on  the  government,  and  a  fresh 
appeal  to  the  States-General  was  absolutely  necessary. 
They  met  on  December  2,  1355. 

Peter  de  la  Forest,  Chancellor  of  Paris  and  Arch- 
bishop of  Rouen,  opened  the  sitting  in  the  name  of 
the  king,  and  requested  the  deputies  to  see  together 
what  subsidy  they  could  grant  to  the  Crown,  suffi- 
cient towards  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  war  ;  and, 
forasmuch  as  he  had  been  given  to  understand  that 
his  subjects  were  very  much  aggrieved  by  the  altera- 
tion of  the  coinage,  he  promised  to  establish  a  strong 
and  durable  coinage,  if  they  would  only  allow  him 
money  enough  to  carry  on  the  war.  The  deputies 
selected  by  the  States  to  return  an  answer  to  the  king 
were  John  de  Craon,  Archbishop  of  Reims  ;  Walter 
VI.,  Count  de  Brienne  and  Duke  of  Athens  ;  and 
Etienne  Marcel,  provost  of  the  merchants  of  Paris, 
— speaking  respectively  in  the  name  of  the  clergy,  the 
nobility,  and  the  commons.  These  three  men  in- 
formed King  John  that  the  States  would  grant  him  an 
army  of  thirty  thousand  men  every  year,  of  which 
they  would  bear  the  expense  ;  and,  in  order  to  pro- 
cure the  necessary  money,  it  was  decided,  further,  that 
a  tax  of  eight  deniers  per  livrc  should  be  paid  by 
all  Frenchmen  without  distinction  of  rank  or  pro- 
fession, besides  the  salt  tax  {gabelle)  which  was  to  be 
levied  throughout  the  kingdom.  The  yield  of  these 
contributions  was  estimated  at  5,000,000  livres. 


FINAXCIAL    MEASURES.  tgt 

In  return  for  these  grants,  the  States-General, 
actuated  by  what  seemed  then  an  act  of  extreme 
boldness,  obtained  a  pledge  that  the  coinage  should 
be  restored  to  its  nominal  value,  that  the  right  of 
confiscation  and  seizure  till  then  exercised  by  the 
king  wherever  he  sojourned,  should  be  abolished,  and 
that  t/uy  alone  (the  States-General)  should  have  the 
right  to  collect  and  pay  the  war-tax  by  the  means  of 
agents  appointed  by  themselves.  "  These  measures," 
M.  Duruy  observes  ("  Histoire  de  France"), "  amounted 
to  a  revolution,  for  the  collecting  of  the  taxes  and  the 
care  of  controlling  the  expenses  are  an  essential  part 
of  the  rights  of  sovereignty." 

The  notion  of  paying  taxes  was  as  hateful  to  the 
nobles  as  it  was  new  and  unheard  of,  and  the  two 
most  conspicuous  heads  of  the  opposing  party  were 
the  King  of  Navarre  and  his  friend  Count  d'Har- 
court.  The  king,  hearing  of  this,  exclaimed,  "  I  am, 
and  mean  to  be,  the  sole  master  in  France,"  and 
caused  the  two  malcontents  to  be  arrested  at  Rouen, 
at  a  festival  given  to  them  and  to  a  number  of  lords 
by  the  Dauphin  Charles.  The  King  of  Navarre  was 
thrown  into  prison,  and  the  Count  d'Harcourt  was 
beheaded. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  Prince  of  Wales  had  taken 
the  field  at  the  head  of  two  thousand  men-at-arms, 
and  six  thousand  archers  ;  he  had  crossed  the  Garonne 
and  Dordogne,  and  laid  waste  the  provinces  of  Au- 
vergne,  Rouergue,  Limousin,  and  Berry.  The  King 
of  France  met  him  near  Poitiers  ;  he  had  under  his 
orders  one  of  the  most  brilliant  armies  that  France 
had  ever  raised.     There  were,  besides  his  four  sons, 


Ig^  BATTLE    OF   POITIERS. 

twenty-six  dukes  and  counts,  one  hundred  and  forty 
knights-bannerets,  and  about  fifty  thousand  soldiers, 
of  which  a  large  number  were  horsemen  lothed  in 
steel  armour.  John  had  arrived  on  the  battlefield 
before  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  had  thus  cut  him  off 
from  the  road  to  Bordeaux  and  from  communications 
with  the  South  of  France.  If  he  had  only  waited 
patiently,  the  English  would  have  been  starved,  but 
John  thought  it  most  knightly  to  force  a  passage 
through  the  enemy. 

There  was  only  a  narrow  path  by  which  to  arrive  at 
the  army  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  ;  the  king  sent  there 
a  detachment  of  mounted  soldiers.  "Then,"  says 
Froissart,  "  the  battle  began  on  all  parts  .  .  .  and 
they  set  forth  that  were  appointed  to  break  the  array 
of  the  archers  ;  they  entered  a-horseback  into  the 
way,  where  the  great  hedges  were  on  both  sides,  set 
full  of  archers.  As  soon  as  the  men-at-arms  entered, 
the  archers  began  to  shoot  on  both  sides,  and  did 
slay  and  hurt  horses  and  knights,  so  that  the  horses 
when  they  felt  the  sharp  arrows,  they  would  in  no 
wise  go  forward,  but  drew  aback,  and  flung  and  took 
on  so  fiercely  that  many  of  them  fell  on  their  masters, 
so  that  for  press  they  could  not  rise  again,  insomuch 
that  the  marshal's  batayle  could  never  come  at  the 
prince.  Certain  knights  and  squires  that  were  well- 
horsed  passed  through  the  archers,  and  thought  to 
approach  to  the  prince,  but  they  could  not  "  (cap.  i62\ 

The  English  then  descended  the  hill.  "  The  Lord 
Chandos  said  to  the  prince,  '  Sir,  take  your  horse  and 
ride  forth  ;  this  journey  is  yours.  God  is  this  day  in 
your  hands  ;  get  in  to  the  P'rench  king's  batayle,  for 


ERRORS   AXD   BRA\'ERY   OF   THE   KING.        ig3 

there  lieth  all  the  sore  of  the  matter.  I  think,  verily, 
by  his  valiantness,  he  will  not  fly  ;  I  know  we  shall 
have  him  by  the  grace  of  God  and  Saint  George,  so 
he  be  well  fought  withal  ;  and,  sir,  I  heard  you  say 
that  this  day  I  should  see  you  a  good  knight'  The 
Prince  said,  '  Let  us  go  forth  ;  ye  shall  not  see  me 
this  day  return  back  ; '  and  said, '  Advance,  banner,  in 
the  name  of  God  and  of  Saint  George  "  (idid) 

"When  the  Duke  of  Normandy's  batayle  saw  the 
prince  approach,  they  thought  to  save  themselves,  and 
so  the  duke  and  the  king's  children,  the  Earl  of 
Poitiers  and  the  Earl  of  Touraine,  who  were  right 
\'oung,  believed  their  governors,  and  so  departed  from 
the  field,  and  with  them  more  than  eight  hundred 
spears  that  stroke  no  stroke  that  day  "  'ibid^ 

This  sudden  and  unlooked-for  defection  was  terrible 
for  the  French.  King  John  had  committed  gross 
blunders,  first,  by  attacking  the  English  prematurely  ; 
and,  next,  by  employing  cavalry  in  a  position  where 
horses  could  not  stand  the  shots  of  the  archers  ;  but 
he  did  prodigies  of  valour,  and  Froissart  bears  wit- 
ness to  his  personal  courage.  "  On  the  French  part," 
he  says,  "  King  John  was  on  that  day  a  full  right 
good  knight  ;  if  the  fourth  part  of  his  men  had  done 
their  devoirs  as  well  as  he  did,  the  journey  had  been 
his  by  all  likelihood  ;  "  and,  further  on,  "  King  John 
with  his  own  hands  did  that  day  marvels  in  arms  ;  he 
had  an  axe  in  his  hands,  wherewith  he  defended  him- 
self, and  fought  in  the  breaking  of  the  press."  By  his 
side  was  his  son  who  won  the  surname  of  tJie  bold  He 
hardi),  and  who  kept  saying,  'Father!  ware  right! 
Father !  ware  left ! '  " 


194  A7iVG    yoHN   SURRENDERS. 

The  rout  was  complete,  and  lasted  till  the  gates  of 
Poitiers.  "  There  were  many  slain  and  many  beaten 
down,  horse  and  man  ;  for  they  of  Poitiers  closed 
their  gates  and  would  suffer  none  to  enter  ;  where- 
fore, in  the  street  before  the  gate,  there  was  horrible 
murder,  more  hurt  and  beaten  down  ;  the  Frenchmen 
yielded  themselves  as  far  as  they  might  know  an 
Englishman  ;  there  were  divers  English  archers  who 
had  four,  five,  or  six  prisoners.  .  .  .  Then  there  was 
a  great  press  to  take  the  king,  and  such  as  knew  him 
cried, '  Sir,  yield  you,  or  else  ye  are  but  dead  ! '  There 
was  a  knight  of  Saint  Omer,  retained  with  wages  with 
the  King  of  England,  called  Sir  Denis  of  Morbecke, 
who  had  served  the  Englishmen  five  years  before, 
because  in  his  youth  he  had  forfeited  the  realm  of 
France  for  a  murder  that  he  did  at  Saint  Omer.  It 
happened  so  well  for  him  that  he  was  next  to  the 
king,  when  they  were  about  to  take  him  ;  he  stepped 
forth  into  the  press,  and,  by  strength  of  his  body  and 
arms,  he  came  to  the  French  king  and  said,  in  good 
F'rench, '  Sir,  yield  you  ! '  The  king  beheld  the  knight, 
and  said,  '  To  whom  shall  I  yield  me  ?  Where  is  my 
cousin  the  Prince  of  Wales  ?  If  I  might  see  him  I 
would  speak  with  him.'  Denis  answered  and  said  : 
'  Sir,  he  is  not  here  ;  but  yield  you  to  me,  and  I  shall 
bring  you  to  him.'  '  Who  be  you  ?  '  quoth  the  king. 
*  Sir,'  quoth  he,  '  I  am  Denis  of  Morbecke,  a  knight  of 
Artois  ;  but  I  serve  the  King  of  P^ngland,  because  I 
am  banished  the  realm  of  P^rance,  and  I  have  for- 
feited all  that  I  had  there.'  Then  the  king  gave  him 
his  right  gauntlet,  sa)-ing, '  I  yield  me  to  you.'  There 
was  a  great  press  about  him,  so  that  the  king  could 


FRONT   ENTRANCE  OF   NOTRE   DAME,    AT   POITIERS. 


ig6      THE   FRENCH   KING    IN   ENGLAND. 

not  go  forwards  with  his  young  son,  the  Lord  Philip, 
with  him  because  of  the  press  "  (cap.  164). 

Eleven  thousand  Frenchmen  were  left  dead  on  the 
field  of  battle  ;  the  English  had  only  lost  two  thousand 
fiAe  hundred.  They  had  three  times  as  many  prisoners 
as  there  were  soldiers  to  keep  them.  Thirteen  counts, 
one  archbishop, seventy  barons,  and  two  thousand  men- 
at-arms,  besides  a  large  number  of  common  soldiers 
had  surrendered,  and  the  question  now  was  how  to 
dispose  of  them.  They  were  dismissed  on  giving 
their  word  that  they  would  come  to  Bordeaux  at 
Christmas-tide,  and  pay  the  stipulated  price  for  their 
ransom  or  remain  captives.  King  John  was  treated 
more  courteously  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  felt 
the  importance  of  the  prize  which  fortune  had  thus 
unexpectedly  placed  within  his  hands. 

"  The  same  day  of  the  battle,  at  night,  the  prince 
made  a  supper  in  his  lodging  to  the  French  king,  and 
to  the  most  part  of  the  great  lords  that  were  prisoners  ; 
.  .  .  and  always  the  prince  served  before  the  king  as 
humbly  as  he  could,  and  would  not  sit  at  the  king's 
board,  for  any  desire  that  the  king  could  make  ;  but 
he  said  he  was  not  sufficient  to  sit  at  the  table  with 
so  great  a  prince  as  the  king  was  ;  but  then  he  said 
to  the  king:  "Sir,  for  God's  sake,  make  no  evil  nor 
heavy  cheer,  though  God  this  day  did  not  consent  to 
follow  your  will  ;  for,  sir,  surely  the  king,  my  father, 
shall  bear  you  as  much  honour  and  friendship  as  he 
may  do,  and  shall  accord  with  you  so  reasonably,  that 
you  shall  ever  be  friends  together  after'"  f^cap.  108). 

The  King  of  France  was  treated  with  the  same 
courtesy    during     the    whole    of    the    journey   from 


TRAVELS    TO    WINDSOR.  igy 

Poitiers  to  London.  "  When  the  King  of  England 
knew  of  their  coming,  he  commanded  them  of  Lon- 
don to  prepare  themselves  and  their  city  to  receive 
such  a  man  as  the  French  king  was  ;  then  they  of 
London  arrayed  themselves  by  companies,  and  the 
chief  masters'  clothing  different  from  the  others.  At 
St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury  the  French  king  and  the 
prince  made  their  offerings,  and  there  tarried  a  day  ; 
and  then  rode  to  Rochester,  and  there  tarried  that 
day,  and  the  next  day  to  Dartford,  and  the  fourth 
day  to  London,  where  they  were  honourably  received, 
and  so  they  were  in  every  good  town  as  they  passed. 
The  French  king  rode  through  London  on  a  white 
courser,  well  apparelled,  and  the  prince  on  a  little 
black  hobby  by  him  ;  thus  he  was  conveyed  along 
the  city  till  he  came  to  the  Savo\-,  the  which  house 
pertained  to  the  heritage  of  the  Duke  of  Lancaster. 
There  the  French  king  kept  his  house  a  long  season. 
.  .  .  And  after,  by  the  commandment  of  Pope  Lino- 
cent  VI.,  there  came  into  England  the  Lord  Talley- 
rand," Cardinal  of  Perigord,  and  the  Lord  Nicholas, 
Cardinal  d'Urgel  ;  they  treated  of  a  peace  between 
the  two  kings,  but  they  could  bring  nothing  to  effect ; 
but  at  last  by  good  means  they  procured^  a  truce, 
het\veeri_the_  two  kings  and  all  their  assisters.  ^ to 
endure  till  _the  feast  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  God  1359;  and  out  of  that  truce 
was  excepted  the  Lord  Philip  of  Navarre  and  his 
allies  the  Countess  of  Montfort,  and  the  Duchy  of 
Brittany.  Anon  after,  the  French  king  was  removed 
from  the  Savoy  to  the  Castle  of  Windsor,  and  all  his 
household  ;  and  went  a-hunting  and  a-hawking  there- 


198  MARCEL   AND   LECOQ. 

about  at  his  pleasure,  and  the  Lord  Phih'p,  his  son, 
with  him  ;  and  all  the  other  prisoners  abode  still  in 
London,  and  went  to  see  the  king  at  their  pleasure, 
and    were    received  all    only   on  their  faiths "    (cap. 

173)- 
The   behaviour   of  the   nobles   was   beginning   to 

ex'cite   great    dissatisfaction    amongst    the   common 

people,  who  accused  them  both  of  cowardice  and  of 

spending  on  themselves    the    money   raised   for  the 

carrying  on   of  the  war.     The   princes  of  the    royal 

family  shared  this  want  of  confidence  ;  the  Dauphin 

Charles  had  fled  from  the  battle-field  by  his  father's 

order,  well   and   good.     But   why  did  he  take  away 

with  him  800  lances  ?     Why  did  the  Duke  d'Orleans 

move  off  with  his  entire  "  batayle  "  before  they  had 

had  the  chance  of  fighting  the  enemy  ? 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  all  this  excitement  that  the 
Dauphin  Charles,  young  and  sickly,  arrived  in  Paris 
on  the  2gth  of  September,  took  the  reins  of  power  as 
lieutenant  for  the  king,  and  called  a  meeting  of  the 
States-General  for  Monday,  October  17th. 

Two  very  popular  men — Etienne  Marcel,  Provost  of 
the  merchants,  and  Robert  Lecoq,  Bishop  of  Laon 
— took  the  lead  in  the  opposition  made  by  the  people 
to  the  government  of  the  Dauphin.  They  were  both 
scandali/xd  by  the  dilapidations  which  were  going  on 
around  them,  and  the  prelate,  an  ambitious  man,  who 
had  expected  to  be  appointed  Chancellor  of  France, 
hated  the  royal  family  for  not  taking  notice  of  his 
supposed  claims,  and  made  no  secret  of  his  sympathy 
for  Charles  de  Navarre.  Marcel  carried  out,  with  the 
Dauphin's  consent,  a  plan  for  the  better  fortification 


"  LA    GRANDE    ORDONNANCE.'  199 

of  Paris,  and  managed  to  infuse  into  the  States- 
General  the  spirit  of  patriotism  by  which  he  himself 
was  animated.  They  aimed  at  nothing  else  but  the 
direction  of  the  government  ;  and  when  they  pledged 
themselves  to  furnish  the  money  necessary  for  the 
prosecution  of  the  war,  they,  in  their  turn,  imposed 
conditions  which  thoroughly  frightened  the  Dauphin. 
Rather  than  iind  himself  in  subjection  to  the  States- 
General,  he  preferred  going  without  money,  and, 
giving  as  a  pretext  the  necessity  in  which  he  was  of 
consulting  the  emperor,  he  broke  up  the  assembly, 
and  ordered  the  members  to  retire  to  their  own  homes. 
His  real  object  was  to  appeal  separately  to  all  the 
large  towns  for  help,  and  having  signally  failed,  he  is- 
sued, before  starting  for  Metz,  where  he  was  to  meet  the 
emperor,  a  decree  altering  once  more  the  value  of  the 
coinage.  The  result  was  a  general  rising  ;  and  King 
John  having  annulled  all  that  the  States-General  had 
done,  the  rising  assumed  the  proportions  of  a  revolu- 
tion. It  is  then  that  Etienne  Marcel,  unable  to  obtain 
from  the  Dauphin  any  satisfactory  answer  to  the 
complaints  of  the  people,  sought  the  assistance  of 
Charles  /e  Mauvais.  What  has  been  called  the  great 
edict  [la grande  ordonnance^  of  1357  vvas  a  remarkable 
document,  and  its  seventy-one  articles  contained  plans 
of  reforms  which  were  very  much  needed  ;  but  it  was 
essentially  Parisian  in  its  origin,  and  as  such  did  not 
excite  much  sympathy  beyond  the  walls  of  the 
metropolis.  However,  Marcel  was  the  real  King  of 
France,  and  in  the  almost  universal  disorder  he 
seemed  the  only  person  who  had  any  energy  left.  On 
the  day  after  the  decree  had  been  issued  ordering  a 


200  REVOLUTION   IN  PARIS. 

fresh  alteration  in  the  coinage,  he  assembled  all  the 
trade  corporations  in  arms,  and,  accompanied  by  them, 
went  to  the  hotel  where  the  Dauphin  resided.     Then 
going  up  to  the  young  prince's  room,  to  ask  him  to 
provide  at  last  for  the  defence  of  the  realm,  and  to 
protect  the  people  from  the  violence  of  the  soldiery, 
"  I  would  readily  do  it,"  answered  the  Dauphin,  "if  I 
could  ;  but  the  keeping  of  the  realm  should  belong  to 
him  who  enjoys  the  rights  and  profits."     Many  bitter 
words  were  exchanged,  and,  finally.  Marcel  said  to  the 
prince,  "  Sir,  you  must  not  be  astonished  at  any  inci- 
dent you  shall  see ;  but  it  is  necessary  that  the  thing 
should   be  done."     Then,  turning  to  some    of  those 
who  had  followed  him  :  "  Come,"  said  he,  "  do  quickly 
that  for  which  you   came  here."     The    mob  rushed 
immediately  upon  the  Marshals  of  Champagne  and  of 
Normandy,  the  two  principal  advisers  of  the  Dauphin, 
and  murdered  them  so  close  to  him  that  his  dress  was 
stained   with   blood.     Charles,   frightened,   begged  of 
Marcel  to  spare  him.     The  Provost  assured  him  that 
he  ran  no  danger  ;  however  he  put  on  the  Dauphin's 
head  his  cap,  which  was  red  and  blue — the  colours  of 
the  city  of  Paris  ;  and  then,  addressing  the  mob  from 
the  town-hall,  he  told  then  what  had  been  done  to  the 
two   marshals,  those  arrant  traitors.     The  populace, 
crowding  the  Place  de  Greve,  shouted  :  "We  own  the 
fact,  and  we  shall  stand  by  you  !  "     On  his  return  to 
the  palace.  Marcel  found  the  Dauphin  overwhelmed 
with  terror  and  with  grief  "  Do  not  be  distressed,  my 
Lord,"  said  he  ;  "  what  has  happened  is  the  will  of  the 
people." 

Against  this   formidable    movement    of  the    Paris 


REACTION   IN    THE   PROVINCES.  201 

bourgeoisie  a  reaction  could  not  but  take  place.  The 
other  towns  were  far  from  sympathizing  with  it,  and 
we  need  scarcely  say  that  the  nobles  cordially  hated  it. 
Under  the  pretext  of  presiding  over  the  States  of 
Champagne  held  at  Provins,  the  Dauphin  left  Paris, 
and  was  promised  the  support  of  the  barons  both 
belonging  to  the  province  and  to  Vermandois.  He 
managed  to  raise  seven  hundred  lances,  and  at  their 
head  laid  waste  the  country,  occupying  in  succession 
Meaux,  Melun,  Saint  Maur,  the  bridge  of  Charenton, 
and  stopping  all  the  supplies  arriving  towards  Paris  by 
the  Upper  Seine  and  the  Marne.  On  his  side, -Marcel 
had  taken  possession  of  the  Louvre,  fortified  the 
metropolis,  and  provided  all  the  streets  with  chains, 
which,  when  stretched  from  one  side  to  the  other, 
could  stop  the  progress  of  the  troops  ;  he  had  also 
raised  an  army  of  mercenary  soldiers. 

The  peasants  were  those  who  had  to  suffer  most 
from  the  disturbed  state  of  the  country.  The  tow^ns 
and  castles  were  comparatively  safe  from  the  attacks 
of  the  roiitiers ;  the  villages,  on  the  contrary,  could 
afford  no  resistance.  The  enemies,  like  a  storm,  passed 
on,  plundering  and  robbing  whatever  came  in  their 
way  ;  the  French  troops  came  next  ;  they  had  to  live, 
and  as  payment  on  their  part  was  a  matter  of  im- 
possibility, they  accomplished  the  ruin  of  those  whom 
they  were  supposed  to  defend.  The  barons,  too,  must 
needs  indemnify  themselves  for  the  losses  they  had 
sustained  ;  they  had  to  pay  their  own  ransom  and 
that  of  their  families,  to  maintain  a  large  band  of 
men  -  at  -  arms,  to  keep  stores  and  provisions  of 
every  kind.     For  all  these  requirements  the  peasants 


202  JACQUES   BON  HOMME. 

were  made  answerable  ;  until  one  fine  day,  Jacques 
Bonhomme  (that  was  the  common  nickname  given  to 
the  French  peasantry)  could  bear  it  no  longer,  and 
hearing  that  the  bourgeoisie  had  risen  against  the 
nobles,  he  thought  he  would  join  in  the  fray. 

"  Cessez,  cessez,  gens  d'armes  et  pietons 
De  piller  et  manger  le  15onhomme, 
Qui  de  longtemps  Jacques  Bonhomme 
Se  nomme." 

This  complaint,  expressed  in  a  rude  poetical  form,  was 
followed  by  deeds  of  the  most  brutal  character.  The 
men  of  Beauvais,  in  Picardy,  were  the  first  to  rise,  and 
after  a  while  they  gathered  together  both  in  Cham- 
pagne and  in  Picardy  to  the  number  of  one  hundred 
thousand,  finding  an  unexpected  and  welcome  ally  in 
Etienne  Marcel,  who  was  anxious  to  counteract  the 
power  of  the  Dauphin.  Taken  in  the  first  instance  by 
surprise,  the  nobles  and  barons  soon  recovered  their 
firmness,  and  began  against  the  Jacques  a  war  which 
admitted  of  no  mercy,  and  was  relentlessly  carried  on. 
In  a  few  weeks  the  peasants  were  exterminated. 

Deprived  of  his  new  allies,  Marcel  then  tried  to 
secure  the  co-operation  of  the  King  of  Navarre,  whom 
he  had  got  out  of  prison,  and  for  whom  he  had 
obtained  the  title  of  Captain  of  the  City  of  Paris. 
But  was  it  quite  safe  to  trust  a  prince  who  had 
powerfully  help  to  slaughter  the  revolutionists  and  to 
stamp  out  the  Jacquerie  ?  PLvidently  no,  for  Charles 
de  Navarre  was  at  the  very  time  negotiating  with  the 
Dauphin,  who  promised  to  satisfy  all  his  claims,  and, 
further,  to  give  him  400,000  florins  if  he  would  onl}' 
open  to  him  the  gates  of  Paris  and  surrender  laicnne 


MARCEL    AXD    CHARLES   LE    MAUWilS.  203 

Marcel  into  his  hands.  The  Provost,  driven  to  ex- 
tremities, and  anxious  to  save  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment, determined  upon  substituting  to  the  reigning 
family  of  France  the  representation  of  the  younger 
branch,  and  accordingly  he  promised  to  Charles  /e 
Jl/ani'ais,  that  he  would  allow  him  access  to  the  gate 
and  bastile  Saint  Denis.  The  prince  would  thus 
make  himself  master  of  Paris,  put  to  death  all  his 
enemies  whose  houses  were  specially  marked  with  a 
distinctive  sign,  and  get  himself  proclaimed  king. 
The  carrying  out  of  the  plot  was  fixed  for  the  night 
between  the  31st  of  July  and  the  ist  of  August. 

"  The  same  night  that  this  should  have  been  done 
God  inspired  certain  burgesses  of  the  city,  such  as 
were  always  of  the  Duke's  party,  such  as  John 
Maillart,  and  Simon  his  brother,  and  divers  others, 
who  by  divine  inspiration,  as  it  ought  to  be  sup- 
posed, were  informed  that  Paris  should  be  that  night 
destro\-ed.  They  incontinent  armed  themselves,  and 
showed  the  matter  in  other  places,  to  have  more  aid  ; 
and  a  little  before  midnight  they  came  to  the  gate 
Saint  Antoine,  and  there  they  found  the  Provost  of 
the  merchants  with  the  keys  of  the  gates  in  his  hands. 
Then  John  Maillart  said  to  the  Provost,  calling  him 
by  his  name  :  '  Stephen,  what  do  you  here  at  this 
hour.-*'  The  Provost  answered  and  said:  'John, 
what  would  }-e  ?  I  am  here  to  take  heed  to  the  town, 
whereof  I  have  the  governing.'  '  By  God,'  said  John, 
'  ye  shall  not  go  so  :  ye  are  not  here  at  this  hour  for  any 
good,  and  that  may  be  seen  by  the  keys  of  the  gates 
that  ye  have  in  your  hands.  I  think  it  be  to  betray 
the  town.'     Quoth  the  Provost,  '  John,  ye  lie  falsely.' 


204  MURDER    OF  ETIENNE   MARCEL. 

'  Nay,'  said  John  ;  '  Stephen,  thou  liest  falsely  like  a 
traitor,'  and  therewith  struck  at  him,  and  said  to  his 
company :  '  Slay  the  traitors  ! '  Then  every  man 
struck  at  them  ;  the  Provost  would  have  fled,  but 
John  Maillart  gave  him  a  blow  with  an  axe  on  the 
head,  that  he  fell  down  to  the  earth,  and  yet  he  was 
his  gossip  ;  and  left  not  till  he  was  slain,  and  six  of 
them  that  were  there  with  him,  and  the  others  taken 
and  put  in  prison. 

"  Then  people  began  to  stir  in  the  streets,  and  John 
Maillart,  and  they  of  his  accord,  went  to  the  gate  of 
Saint  Honore,  and  there  they  found  certain  of  the 
Provost's  sect,  and  then  they  laid  treason  to  them, 
but  their  excuses  availed  nothing. 

"There  were  divers  taken,  and  sent  into  divers 
places  to  prison,  and  such  as  would  not  be  taken  were 
slain  without  mercy.  The  same  night  they  went  and 
took  divers  in  their  beds,  such  as  were  culpable  of  the 
treason,  by  the  confession  of  such  as  were  taken. 

"The  next  day  John  Maillart  assembled  the  most 
part  of  the  Commons  in  the  market  hall,  and  there 
he  mounted  on  a  stage,  and  showed  generally  the 
cause  why  he  had  slain  the  Provost  of  the  merchants ; 
and  then,  by  the  counsel  of  all  the  wise  men,  all  such 
as  were  of  the  sect  of  the  Provost  were  judged  to  the 
death,  and  so  they  were  executed  by  divers  torments 
of  death.  Thus  done,  John  Maillart,  who  was  then 
greatly  in  the  grace  of  the  Commons  of  Paris,  and 
other  of  his  adherents,  sent  Simon  Maillart  and  two 
masters  of  the  Parliament  ...  to  the  Duke  of 
Normandy,  being  at  Charenton.  They  showed  the 
Duke   all   the   matter,  and  desired   him  to  come  to 


STATE    OF  FRANCE. 


205 


Paris  to  aid  and  to  counsel  them  of  the  city  from 
thenceforth,  saying  that  all  his  adversaries  were  dead. 
The  Duke  said,  '  With  right  a  good  will,'  and  so  he 
came  to  Paris,  and  with  him  Sir  Arnold  D'Andchen, 
the  Lord  of  Roy,  and  other  knights  ;  and  he  lodged 
at  the  Louvre."  ^ 

The  situation  of  France  was  terrible,  disorder 
reigned  everywhere,  and  the  usual  accompaniments 
of  war — famine  and  pestilence — were  threatening  the 
kingdom.  Negotiations  had  been  opened  by  King 
John  with  England,  but  they  were  of  so  humiliating 
a  nature  that  the  Dauphin  refused  to  sanction  them, 
and  accordingly  Edward  invaded  France  once  more 
(1359).  He  was  himself  beginning  to  get  weary  of 
this  constant  fighting,  and  the  obstinate  resistance  he 
met  with  at  every  step  he  took,  resistance  made  more 
obstinate  by  despair,  discouraged  him.  There  was  no 
glory  to  be  obtained,  because  there  was  no  pitched 
battles  ;  no  plunder  to  expect,  because  everything  was 
either  taken  already,  or  concealed  safely  behind  the 
walls  of  the  fortresses. 

The  following  episode  has  often  been  quoted,  but 
it  deserves  to  be  recorded  again  as  a  touching  and 
curious  illustration  of  the  way  in  which  the  war  was 
now  carried  on.  It  is  related  by  the  chronicler,  Jean 
de  Venette. 

"  There  is  a  strong  place  in  a  small  village  called 
Longueil,  near  Compiegne.  The  inhabitants,  seeing 
that  Ihey  would  run  into  danger  if  the  enemy  were 
to  take  possession  of  that  place  in  their  neighbour- 
hood, occupied  it  with  the  permission  of  the  Abbot  of 
'  Froissart,  cap.  187. 


2o6  LE    GRAND    FERRE. 

Saint  Corneille  of  Compiegne,  to  whom  it  belonged, 
and  of  the  Regent,  They  provided  themselves  with 
arms  and  victuals,  selected  one  of  themselves  as  cap- 
tain, and  promised  to  the  Lord  Duke  that  they  would 
defend  their  fortress  to  the  last.  Others  came  from 
the  neighbouring  villages.  The  captain  was  a  tall, 
handsome  man,  by  name  Guillaume  des  Alouettes. 
He  took  as  his  servant  another  peasant,  quite  his 
match,  a  man  of  incredible  strength  of  limbs,  well- 
proportioned  despite  his  stature,  full  of  boldness  and 
of  vigour,  and  in  his  great  body  having  a  very  low 
opinion  of  himself  He  was  called  /e  grand  Ferre. 
They  therefore  assembled  in  that  place,  two  hundred 
in  number,  all  agriculturists,  or  earning  their  liveli- 
hood by  manual  labour.  The  English,  who  held  the 
castle  of  Creil,  hearing  what  sort  of  men  they  were, 
went  to  Longueil  full  of  contempt,  and  without  pre- 
caution, saying  :  '  Let  us  drive  away  those  rustics,  and 
take  possession  of  the  place.'  Two  hundred  of  them 
had  arrived  unnoticed  ;  finding  the  gates  open,  they 
walked  boldly  into  the  yard,  when  the  unskilled 
soldiers  of  the  garrison  were  still  upstairs,  looking  out 
of  the  windows,  and  quite  stupified  at  seeing  the  place 
full  of  armed  men.  The  captain  descended  with  some 
of  his  fellows,  and  began  to  strike  ;  but  soon  sur- 
rounded by  the  English,  he  was  killed.  The  grand 
Ferr(?  and  his  companions  said  to  one  another  :  '  Let 
us  come  down,  and  sell  our  lives  dearly,  for  we  have 
no  mercy  to  expect.'  They  assembled  in  good  order, 
and  sallying  forth  from  several  gates,  they  began  to 
knock  upon  the  English  just  as  if  they  were  engaged 
in   their   ordinary   task   of  threshing  the   corn.     The 


THE   ENGLTSH  AT  LONGUEIL.  207 

arms  rose  in  the  air,  fell  down  upon  the  English,  and 
every  blow  was  mortal.  The  grand  Fcrn\  brandishing 
his  heavy  axe,  did  not  touch  one  but  he  cleft  his 
heavy  helmet  or  struck  off  his  arms.  Behold  all  the 
English  taking  to  flight  ;  several  jumped  into  the 
moat  and  were  drowned.  The  grand  Fcrre  killed 
their  standard-bearer,  and  told  one  of  his  followers  to 
carry  the  standard  into  the  moat.  His  men  showing 
him  a  number  of  English  still  between  himself  and 
the  moat  :  '  Follow  me,'  said  k grand,  and  he  went  for- 
ward, plying  his  axe  right  and  left  till  the  banner  had 
been  cast  into  the  water.  He  had  killed  on  that  day 
upv/ards  of  forty  men.  ...  On  the  morrow  the  Eng- 
lish came  in  great  numbers  to  attack  Longueil  ;  but 
the  people  of  the  village  no  longer  dreaded  them,  and 
they  ran  to  meet  them,  the  grand  Ferre  at  their  head. 
Several  English  noblemen  were  taken,  and  would 
have  paid  large  ransoms  if  the  peasants  had,  like  the 
nobles,  offered  them  the  option  ;  but  they  killed  them 
in  order  that  they  might  do  no  more  harm.  On  this 
occasion  the  grand  Ferre,  heated  by  his  work,  drank 
a  good  deal  of  cold  water,  and  was  seized  with  fever. 
He  went  to  the  village,  reached  his  cottage,  and  took 
to  his  bed,  not,  however,  without  keeping  by  his  side 
his  good  iron  axe,  which  an  ordinary  man  could  not 
raise.  Having  heard  that  he  was  ill,  the  English  sent 
one  day  twelve  men  to  kill  him.  His  wife  seeing  them 
come  from  a  distance,  ran  to  his  bed  saying  :  'Ah  ! 
my  Fcrre,  here  are  the  English  !  I  really  believe 
that  they  are  looking  out  for  you.  What  is  to  be 
done  ? '  He  immediately  forgetting  his  illness  got 
up  quickly,  took  his  axe  and  went  into  his  small  yard 


208  PEACE   OF  BRETIGNY. 

'  Ah !  thieves ! '  said  he  ;  'so  you  have  come  to  take 
me  in  my  bed  ?  You  have  not  caught  me  yet  ! '  And 
in  his  wrath  he  killed  five  of  them  in  a  moment  ;  the 
other  seven  took  to  flight.  The  victor  went  to  bed 
again  ;  but  being  very  hot,  he  drank  more  cold  water. 
Fever  again  seized  him,  and  after  a  few  days,  the 
grand  Ferre  \Q.{t  this  world,  having  received  the  sacra- 
ments of  the  Church,  and  was  buried  in  the  village 
cemetery." 

This  noble  example  and  other  similar  ones  did 
more  than  anything  else  to  arouse  patriotism  in  many 
faint  hearts  ;  even  Charles  le  Mauvais  yielded  ;  he 
made  his  peace  with  the  Regent,  and  declared  that  his 
only  wish  now  was  to  prove  himself  a  good  Frenchman. 

Meanwhile  the  negotiations  which  had  begun  came, 
after  a  long  time,  to  a  satisfactory  result,  and  peace 
was  signed  at  the  hamlet  of  Bretigny,  near  Chartres, 
on  the  8th  of  May,  1360.  Guienne,  Poitou,  Saintonge, 
Angoumois,  Limousin,  Calais,  Guines,  Montreuil,  and 
the  whole  of  Ponthieu  were  abandoned  to  England  ; 
the  King  of  France  had,  moreover,  to  pay  a  sum  of 
3,000,000  crowns  (about  250,000,000  francs).  He 
had  been  brought  back  to  Calais,  but  recovered  his 
liberty  only  on  disbursing  a  first  instalment  of 
500,000  crowns,  and  delivering  into  the  hands  of  the 
English  about  one  hundred  hostages,  including  his 
second  and  his  third  son,  his  brother,  twenty  of  the 
highest  barons  of  France,  and  thirty-eight  notable 
burgesses  belonging  to  the  principal  cities  of  the 
kingdom.  The  money  formed  part  of  a  sum  of 
600,000  gold  florins  given  by  Galeazzo  Visconti  as 
the  price  of  the  hand   of  the  young  princess,  Isabel 


DEATH   OF    THE   KIXG.  209 

of  France,  whom  he  obtained  as  a  wife  for  his  son 
Giovanni  Galeazzo. 

It  was  with  feelin_^s  of  the  bitterest  sorrow  that  the 
inhabitants  of  the  provinces  ceded  to  England 
received  the  news  of  their  no  longer  being  French 
citizens,  and  in  some  places  this  sorrow  led  to  de- 
liberate acts  of  resistance.  John,  however,  went 
through  France,  in  order  to  take  possession  of  the 
Duchy  of  Burgundy,  which  became  his  by  right  of 
inheritance,  on  account  of  the  death  of  Philippe  de 
Rouvres,  and  which  he  made  over  to  his  son  Philip 
the  Bold.  Visiting  the  Pope  at  Avignon,  he  had  been 
nearly  persuaded  by  him  to  attempt  another  Crusade, 
when  he  heard  that  one  of  his  sons,  the  Duke 
d'Anjou,  had  escaped  from  the  hands  of  the  English, 
with  whom  he  had  been  left  as  hostage.  Resolving 
most  loyally  to  take  his  place,  John  returned  to 
London  and  spent  the  winter  of  1343  in  festivities 
which  ended  by  killing  him.  He  died  April  8,  1364, 
at  the  early  age  of  forty-four.  He  had  created  in 
135 1  the  first  official  order  of  knighthood,  the  Order 
of  the  Star  {rEtoile)  which  served  as  a  pattern  for  the 
Order  of  the  Golden  Fleece  (toison  d'or)  instituted  in 
1439  by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy. 


XL 


CHARLES   V.    THE   WISE,   AND    FH^ST    PART    OF    THE 
REIGN    OF   CHARLES   VL 
(1 364- 1  392.) 

Charles  V.  was  twenty-seven  years  old  when  he 
succeeded  his  father.  Delicate  in  his  constitution, 
unable  to  stand  any  fatigue,  so  weak  that  many 
people  suspected  him  to  have  been  poisoned  by 
Charles  de  Navarre,  he  seemed  hardly  the  man  to 
cope  with  the  difficulties  of  the  situation  in  which  he 
was  placed.  His  tastes,  besides,  were  for  study  and 
literature  ;  he  spent  his  time  at  the  castle  of  Vincennes, 
or  in  Paris  at  the  Hotel  Saint  Pol,  in  the  company  of 
■  solemn  clerks "  {clercs  soloiiicls),  astrologers,  and 
philosophers.  Would  such  a  king  be  able  to  conquer 
France  from  the  English,  and  to  hoist  up  the 
oriflamme  ?  Fortunately  a  whole  school  of  captains 
had  arisen  who  understood  that  war  is  a  science,  and 
that,  although  personal  courage  is  indispensable,  the 
knowledge  of  tactics  and  of  strategy  is  not  less  so. 
Bertrand  Duguesclin  and  Olivier  de  Clisson,  Marshal 
Boucicault,  Louis  de  Chalons,  Le  Begue  de  Vilaines, 
the  lords  of  Beaujeu,  Pommicrs  ct  Reyneval,  were  the 
most  distinguished  of  that  band  of  soldiers,  especially 


AUTHORITIES  FOR  THE  REIGN  OF  CHARLES  V.     211 

Duguesclin  and  Boucicault,  whose  high  deeds  have 
been  described  to  us  in  two  works  still  reckoned 
amongst  the  monuments  of  medicxval  literature. 
The  "  Livre  des  faicts  du  mareschal  de  Boucicault" 
(i 368-1421)  is  the  interesting  record  of  a  life  full  of 
adventures  which  read  like  the  old  chansons  dc  neste  ; 
the  "  Roumant  de  Bertrand  du  Glasquin,"  as  the  title 
sufficiently  shows,  must  be  considered  less  as  a 
biography  than  as  an  epic,  in  which  imagination  has  a 
large  share  ;  and  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  rouse  up 
the  courage  of  the  "  good  French  knights."  A  third 
work  remains  to  be  mentioned,  connected  with  the 
history  of  the  reign  ;  we  mean  Christine  de  Pisan's 
"  Livre  des  faits  et  bonnes  moeurs  du  Roi  Charles  V.," 
which  brings  before  us  in  all  their  curious  details  the 
character,  the  manners,  and  the  habits  of  a  good  and 
wise  king. 

Charles  de  Navarre  had  very  soon  forgotten  the 
promise  he  had  made  of  being  nn  bou  Francais  for 
the  future,  and  he  w^as  once  again  threatening  the 
realm  ;  but  his  attitude  w^as  no  justification  whatever 
of  the  treacherous  way  in  which  his  two  cities  of 
Mantes  and  Meulan  were  taken.  He  resolved  upon 
avenginghimsclf  signally,  and  announced  his  intention 
of  preventing  the  coronation  of  the  young  king  at 
Reims.  With  that  view  he  had  collected  an  army 
composed  chiefly  of  English  and  Gascon  mercenaries, 
commanded  by  Jean  de  Grailli,  Captal  of  Buch. 
Charles  V.  did  not  wait  till  the  force  had  begun  to 
move  ;  he,  too,  collected  some  troops  whom  he  placed 
under  the  orders  of  Duguesclin,  just  named  by  him 
Captain-General  of  Normandy,  and  on  the  da\'  of  his 


CUKU.NATIO.N    Ul     i.llAl-l.Lb    V. 


BATTLE    OF   COCHEKEL    AND   AURAY,  213 

coronation  TMay  19th)  he  learnt  that  the  enemy  had 
been  signally  defeated  at  Cocherel,  near  Evreux. 
Jean  de  Grailli  was  taken  prisoner,  and  the  Navarrese 
compelled  to  come  to  terms,  must  needs  remains 
satisfied  with  the  barony  of  Montpellier  in  exchange 
for  his  Normandy  fiefs. 

The  following  portrait  of  Duguesclin  is  amusing. 

"Mais  I'enfant  dont  je  dis  et  dont  je  vais  parlant, 
Je  crois  qu'il  not  si  lait  de  Resnes  a  Dinant. 
Camus  estoit  et  noir,  malotru  et  massant  (?) 
Li  pere  et  la  mere  si  le  heoient  tant  .   .  .   ." 

"'  But  the  child  whom  I  mention,  and  about  whom  I  speak, 
I  th'nk  there  never  was  such  an  ugly  one  from  Rennes  to  Dinan. 
He  was  flat-nosed,  and  black,  ill-mannered,  and  (?) 
His  father  and  mother  hated  him  so  much." 

Such  was  the  hero  of  Charles  the  Fifth's  reign  ; 
after  having  played  an  important  part  in  the  war 
against  Charles  de  Navarre,  he  took  the  command  of 
the  French  forces,  sent  to  the  assistance  of  Charles  de 
Blois,  who  was  disputing  the  possession  of  Brittany 
with  the  Count  de  Montfort,  assisted  by  the  famous 
English  captain,  John  Chandos.  In  a  battle  which 
took  place  at  Auray  (September  29,  1364),  Charles  de 
Blois  was  killed,  and  Duguesclin,  made  prisoner,  had 
to  pay  the  enormous  sum  of  100,000  livres  to  recover 
his  liberty.  The  King  of  France  thought  it  was  high 
time  that  a  war  which  had  lasted  upwards  of  twenty 
years  should  come  to  an  end.  He  acknowledged  John 
de  Montfort  as  Duke  of  Brittany,  and  contrived  that 
peace  should  be  signed  at  Guerande  betv/een  that 
baron  and  the  widow  of  Charles  de  Blois  (April 
12,  1365J. 


STATUE  OF   DUGUESCLIN. 


THE    "  GRANDES   COMPAGNIES."  215 

The  next  great  task  to  which  the  King  of  France 
applied  himself  was  to  drive  out  of  the  country  the 
numerous  bands  of  adventurers  which,  under  the 
name  of  grandes  coinpagnies,  were  doing  almost  as 
much  mischief  as  the  followers  of  Jacques  Bonhomme. 
It  happened  that  about  that  time  the  Spanish  prince, 
Henry  of  Transtamare,  was  engaged  in  a  war  with 
his  brother,  Don  Pedro  of  Castile,  one  of  the  greatest 
and  most  cruel  t)-rants  of  the  mediaeval  epoch. 
Charles  V.,  to  whom  he  had  applied  for  assistance, 
was  only  too  happy  to  find  an  opportunity  of  getting 
rid  of  the  grandes  couipagnies ;  he  placed  them  at 
Transtamare's  disposal,  after  having  given  to  them  as 
a  leader  Duguesclin,  whose  ransom  he  generously 
paid.  Success  favoured  in  the  first  instance  Henry 
of  Transtamare,  but  Don  Pedro,  having  obtained  the 
assistance  of  the  Black  Prince,  defeated  his  brother, 
and  Duguesclin  became  once  more  a  prisoner  of  the 
English  (April,  1 367). 

Don  Pedro  had  promised  to  pay  the  English  hand- 
somely for  the  assistance  they  had  given  him,  but  he 
was  penniless  himself,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Guyenne 
were  obliged  to  bear  all  the  burden  of  a  fruitless 
expedition.  Thoroughly  irritated,  they  felt  all  the 
more  the  insolence  of  their  new  masters,  and  finally 
entered  a  formal  complaint  against  the  Black  Prince 
for  not  observing  the  conditions  of  the  treaty  of 
Bretigny.  Summoned  in  consequence  by  the  King 
of  France,  his  suzerain,  to  appear  and  justify  himself 
before  the  court  of  parliament  in  Paris,  the  prince 
sent  to  prison  the  tvvo  messengers  who  had  delivered 
to  him  the  order,  and  prepared   for  a  fresh  war.     In 


ENGLISH  AND   FRENCH.  217 

the  meanwhile  the  tragic  death  of  Pedro  the  Cruel, 
stabbed  by  Henry  of  Transtamare,  having  put  an 
end  to  hostilities  in  the  south,  Charles  V.  felt  at 
liberty  to  concentrate  all  his  energies  upon  the 
struggle  with  the  English.  The  taking  of  Limoges 
(1370)  was  the  Black  Prince's  last  exploit,  and  it  was 
marked  by  incidents  of  unwonted  cruelty.  He  re- 
turned to  Bordeaux,  and  finally  died  in  England  (i  3/6)- 

The  tide  of  affairs  seemed  beginning  to  turn  in 
favour  of  the  French.  Charles  V.  renewed  the  old 
alliance  with  the  Scotch  ;  he  secured  the  friendship 
of  the  Duke  of  Brabant  and  the  Count  of  Hainault, 
and  obtained  the  hand  of  the  heiress  of  Flanders  for 
his  young  brother  Philip,  Duke  of  Burgundy.  It  is 
interesting  to  compare  the  state  of  the  English  army 
with  that  of  the  French.  The  former  had  an  admirable 
infantry,  excellent  archers,  and  a  body  of  men-at- 
arms,  who  by  their  severe  training  and  their  know- 
ledge of  manoeuvring  were  as  good  as  regular 
cavalry.  Around  Charles  V,  was  assembled  a  large 
posse:  of  noblemen  extremely  brave,  but  ignorant  of 
the  most  elementary  rules  of  discipline.  Under  such 
conditions  pitched  battles  were  to  be  avoided,  but 
small  encounters  might  take  place  in  the  interval 
between  two  expeditions,  and  Duguesclin,  now  named 
Constable  of  France,  distinguished  himself  in  actions 
of  that  kind. 

We  are  told  that  during  the  Breton  war  (1350) 
Robert  de  Beaumanoir,  governor  of  the  Castle  of 
Josselin,  sent  a  challenge  to  the  English  captain, 
Richard  Bramborough,  commanding  the  town  of 
Ploermel.      The   two  champions,  each  accompanied 


2l8  DUGUESCTJN. 

by  twenty-nine  knights,  met  on  a  heath  near  Josselin, 
and  engaged  in  a  desperate  battle.  Beaumanoir, 
wounded  at  the  beginning  of  the  fray,  and  very 
thirsty  in  consequence,  asked  for  something  to  drink. 
"  Drink  your  blood,  Beaumanoir  !  "  exclaimed  one  of 
his  companions,  Geoffrey  Dubois,  and  went  on  striking 
right  and  left.  Four  Frenchmen,  nine  Englishmen 
(including  Bramborough)  were  killed  ;  all  the  others 
were  severely  wounded.  The  English  surrendered  to 
the  French. 

Now  this  was  the  kind  of  fight  that  Duguesclin 
most  relished  ;  he  defeated  at  Pont  Vallain  Robert 
Knolles  (1370',  and  routed  another  body  of  partisans 
near  Chizey  in  Poitou  (1373)  ;  the  illustrious  Chandos 
had  been  killed  during  the  first  campaign,  and  in 
1372  the  Captal  de  Buch  was  taken  prisoner  near 
Soubise.  Evidently  the  English  were  losing  ground 
in  France  ;  Poitiers  and  La  Rochelle  (1372)  had  been 
wrested  from  them,  and,  thoroughly  wearied,  they 
asked  for  a  truce,  which  lasted  till  the  death  of 
Edward  III.  in  1377.  Charles  V.  then  broke  it,  and. 
having  ineffectually  tried  to  annex  Brittany  to  the 
Crown,  he  was  about  to  fight  the  Bretons,  assisted  by 
the  English,  when  death  carried  him  ofT  at  Vincennes 
(September  16,  1380). 

We  must  now  consider  for  a  short  time  the  King  of 
PVance  as  an  administrator  and  a  protector  of  litera- 
ture. His  perseverance,  his  economy,  his  probity  (he 
would  not  have  recourse  to  the  dangerous  and  immoral 
practice  of  altering  the  coinagej,  procured  for  him  the 
"  sobriquet  "  of  the  zvise.  He  rendered  the  parliament 
permanent,  curtailed  the  privileges  of  the  nobles,  and 


220 


BUDGET   OF   CHARLES    V. 


introduced  important  reforms  in  the  finances  ;  indirect 
taxes  (aides)  were  made  permanent  likewise,  and 
instead  of  allowing  a  salary  to  the  members  of  the 
parliament,  he  abandoned  to  them  the  fines  they 
might  inflict  upon  condemned  criminals  and  delin- 
quents— a  measure  which  was  not  calculated  to 
promote  the  cause  of  indifferent  justice. 

Charles  V.  was  very  fond  of  building ;  he  com- 
menced the  Bastile,  repaired  and  enlarged  the  Paris 
walls  and  the  Louvre,  and  constructed  the  Hotel 
Saint  Pol,  the  chapel  of  Vincennes,  and  the  castles 
of  Beaute,  Plaisance,  and  Melun.  The  idea  of  uniting 
the  Loire  to  the  Seine,  carried  out  two  centuries  later 
by  Henry  IV.,  was  originally  his.  To  conclude  this 
enumeration,  we  shall  give  here  the  items  of  what 
may  be  called  the  French  budget  for  1372.  It  is 
taken  from  the  great  decree  (ordonnance')  for  the  same 
year  as  reproduced  in  M.  Duruy's  "  History  of 
France  "  : — 


For  the  payment  of  the  gensd'armes  ... 

For  the  gensd  armes  and  cross-bow  men  of  the  new 

foundation   ... 
For  the  navy 
For  the  king's  hostel 
To  place  in  the  king's  coffers 
Unforeseen  expenses     ... 
Payment  of  the  debt     ... 


FRANCS 

50,000 

42,000 

8,000 

6,000 

5,000 

10,000 

10,000 

131,000 


We  must  note  that  this  is  a  monthly  .statement ;  the 
yearly  expenses,  therefore,  amounted  to  1,572,000 
francs  in  gold  crowns  (about  130,000,000  francs 
according  to  the  pre.sent  value  of  P^cnch  moncy;,and 


POLITICAL    WRITINGS.  221 

out  of  this  sum  72,000  francs,  about  i-22nd,  went  for 
the  personal  expenses  of  the  King,  the  Queen,  and 
the  Dauphin. 

"Charles  V./"  says  M.  Michelet  ("History  of 
France  "),  "  is  perhaps  the  first  king  of  that  nation, 
till  then  so  light-hearted,  who  knew  how  to  prepare 
from  afar  the  success,  and  who  understood  the  influ- 
ence, distant  and  slow  then,  but  even  at  that  time  real 
of  books  over  business.  The  prior,  Honore  Bonnor, 
wrote  by  his  order  and  under  the  odd  title  of  '  L'arbre 
des  Batailles,'  the  first  essay  on  the  rights  of  peace 
and  of  war.  His  advocate,  Raoul  de  Presle,  trans- 
lated for  him  the  Bible  in  the  vulgar  tongue.  His  old 
tutor,  Nicholas  Oresme,  translated  into  French  the 
other  Bible  of  those  days,  namely,  Aristotle.  Oresme, 
Raoul  de  Presles,  Philip  de  Maizieres,  worked  to- 
gether on  those  ponderous  tomes — the  '  Songe  du 
Vergier,'  the  '  Songe  du  vieux  Pelerin,'  kinds  of  cyclo- 
paedic romances,  where  all  the  questions  interesting 
at  that  time  were  discussed,  and  which  prepared  the 
abatement  of  the  spiritual  power  and  the  confisca- 
tion of  Church  property.  Similarly,  during  the  six- 
teenth century,  Pithou,  Passerat,  and  a  few  others 
worked  togethe^.on  the  '  Satire  Menippee.'" 

Another  book  which  should  not  be  forgotten  is  the 
small  political  pamphlet  entitled,  "  Le  vray  regime  et 
gouverncment  des  Bergers  et  Bergeres,  compose  par 
le  rustique  Jehan  de  Brie,  le  bon  Berger."  It  is  a 
matter  of  doubt  whether  it  was  not  dictated  in  part 
to  the  author  by  Charles  V.  Under  an  allegorical 
form  it  is  an  appeal  to  concord  and  goodwill.  Jean 
de  Brie  preaches  from  the  well-known  parable  of  the 


222  THE   DUKE   D^ANyOU. 

sheepfold,  and  tells  that  the  Good  Shepherd  scorns 
to  imitate  Charles  of  Navarre,  who  tried  to  enter 
into  Paris  by  night  ;  he  does  not  sell  Christendom 
secretly,  like  Clement  IV.,  nor  does  he,  after  the 
fashion  of  certain  cunning  and  deceitful  clerks,  take 
possession  fraudently  of  prebends  and  rich  benefices. 

The  remonstrances  and  counsels  of  Jean  de  Brie 
were  reasonable  during  the  days  of  Charles  V.  ;  how 
much  more  so  amidst  the  confusion,  the  misgovern- 
ment,  and  general  distress  which  marked  the  reign  of 
Charles  VI.? 

Although  the  eldest  of  the  brothers  of  the  late 
king,  Louis,  Duke  d'Anjou,  had  not  been  summoned 
to  wait  upon  him  during  his  last  moments,  because 
people  dreaded  his  ambition,  his  greed,  and  his  cove- 
tousness.  Christine  de  Pisan  describes  him  as  "tall  and 
of  a  pontifical  (stately)  appearance  ;  most  handsome 
both  of  body  and  of  countenance,  very  courageous, 
and  much  desirous  of  lordships  and  of  treasures." 

The  Duke  d'Anjou  had  taken  care  to  have  the  bed- 
side of  Charles  V.  watched  by  trusty  followers,  who 
kept  him  well  informed  of  all  that  took  place  and  of 
the  progress  of  the  king's  malady.  The  fatal  moment 
had  scarcely  arrived,  when  he  came  to  the  palace, 
and  seized  upon  the  Crown  jewels  and  the  treasury, 
amounting,  it  is  said,  to  nineteen  millions.  At  the 
same  time  he  assumed  the  government  of  the  state 
contrary  to  the  express  will  of  Charles  V.,  who  had 
entrusted  the  regency  to  his  two  other  brothers,  the 
Dukes  of  Burgundy  and  of  Berry,  and  to  his  brother- 
in-law,  the  Duke  ot   Bourbon. 

The  three  princes   above  named  were    not  in  the 


Council  of  regency.  223 

slightest  degree  willing  to  resign  their  claims,  and 
they  had  their  partisans  and  friends  on  whose  co- 
operation they  could  rely  in  case  of  need.  Besides, 
if  the  Duke  d'Anjou  had  the  advantage  of  being 
master  of  Paris,  they  had  the  far  greater  one  of  keep- 
ing under  their  guardianship  the  young  King  Charles, 
who  was  only  twelve  years  of  age,  and  who  resided 
with  them  at  ^lelun.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  A  few 
lords,  amongst  whom  was  the  Chancellor  of  France, 
Peter  d'Orgemont,  proposed  that  the  difference  should 
be  submitted  to  a  council  composed  of  bishops,  lords, 
members  of  the  parliament,  of  the  court  of  accounts, 
and  burgesses  of  the  principal  towns  (bonnes  villes). 

The  meeting  was  a  very  stormy  one  ;  whilst  the 
Duke  d'Anjou  maintained  with  much  eloquence  his 
rights  of  seniority,  the  Chancellor  put  forward  the 
will  of  Charles  V.,  and  his  express  declaration  on 
the  subject  of  the  regenc}\  An  appeal  to  brute  force 
was  imminent,  when  the  Advocate-General,  Desmarets, 
proposed  that  four  arbitrators  should  be  appointed, 
whose  decision  all  would  be  bound  to  accept.  The 
resolution  arrived  at  was  as  follows  :  In  the  first 
place,  the  young  king  was  to  be  crowned  immediately, 
the  Duke  d'Anjou  retaining  the  title  of  regent  till  the 
moment  of  the  coronation,  and  sharing  afterwards 
with  the  Dukes  of  Berry  and  Burgundy  the  tutelage 
of  Charles  VI.  till  his  majority,  fixed  by  his  father  to 
the  age  of  fourteen.  The  Duke  d'Anjou  obtained 
besides  what  he  most  coveted — the  jewels,  plate,  and 
money,  the  value  of  which  would  enable  him  to  con- 
quer the  kingdom  of  Naples,  to  which  he  had  been 
called  by  Joan,  the  late  queen. 


224  CHARLES   VI.  IN  PARIS. 

Charles  VI.  made  a  solemn  entry  into  Reims  on 
the  occasion  of  his  coronation  ;  he  was  accompanied 
by  his  four  uncles,  and  by  a  large  gathering  of  lords 
and  prelates.  After  the  ceremony  a  sumptuous 
banquet  was  held,  during  which  an  incident  occurred 
which  threatened  to  disturb  the  harmony  re-esta- 
blished with  so  much  difficulty.  The  prelates, 
according  to  custom,  sat  on  the  right  of  the  king  ; 
the  Duke  d'Anjou  had  selected  the  seat  immediately 
i>n  his  left,  but  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  insisted  upon 
occupying  it,  as  being  the  premier  peer  of  France, 
and  the  other  competitor  had  to  resign  his  preten- 
sions not  without  expressing  loudly  his  dissatisfaction. 
The  banquet  was  served  by  the  highest  barons  in 
the  kingdom  :  the  Lord  of  Coucy,  the  Constable 
(Dlivier  de  Clisson,  Admiral  John  de  Vienne,  the  Lord 
de  la  Tremoille  ;  they  were  mounted  on  their  chargers 
and  arrayed  in  cloth  of  gold.  The  festival  was 
concluded  by  the  performance  of  one  of  those  "  mys- 
teries "  or  miracle- plays  which  constitute  the  dramatic 
literature  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

On  the  return  of  the  king  to  his  capital,  and  after 
the  excitement  ordinary  to  the  first  few  days  of  a 
new  reign,  the  perils  which  threatened  France  became 
more  and  more  evident.  In  the  first  place,  a  feudal 
reaction  was  manifesting  itself  against  the  acts  of 
Charles  V.  ;  his  friends  and  advisers  were  dismissed, 
whilst  the  regents  bestowed  all  their  favour  upon 
lords  and  barons  who  had  long  been  kept  excluded 
from  the  councils  of  the  State.  Then,  the  financial 
condition  of  the  people  was  wretched,  a  rising  seemed 
inevitable,  and    the    Duke   d'Anjou  was  reproached 


THE   DUKE   D'ANJOV.  225 

for  not  doing  away  with  the  gabelle  and  other  exces- 
sive taxes  which  the  late  kiiu.;^  had  solemnly  promised 
to  abolish. 

Upwards  of  three  hundred  men  marched  towards 
the  palace  to  obtain  an  answer  to  their  just  com- 
plaints. The  Duke  d'Anjou,  nothing  daunted,  got  upon 
a  table  and,  addressing  the  rioters,  reminded  them 
that  the  city  of  Paris  was  indebted  to  the  Crown 
for  all  its  privileges  and  its  monuments  ;  the  petitions 
of  the  citizens  had  alwa}'S  been  courteously  attended 
to,  and  on  this  occasion  the}'  would  meet  with  the 
same  consideration,  provided  order  was  re-estab- 
lished at  once. 

The  salt  tax  being  done  away  with  according  to 
the  declaration,  it  became  necessary  for  the  regents 
to  procure  money  by  other  means  ;  the  Duke 
d'Anjou  assembled  no  less  than  seven  times  in  the 
course  of  one  )ear  (1381)  the  deputies  of  the  three 
orders  with  a  view  of  obtaining  from  them  a  grant 
of  subsidies.  It  was  all  in  vain  ;  people  compared 
the  successors  of  Philip  the  Fair  with  what  tradition 
related  about  Saint  Louis,  the  paternal  nature  of  his 
government  and  his  sense  of  justice.  "The  citizens 
of  Paris,"  says  the  chronicler,  Juvenal  des  Ursins, 
"  assumed  armours  and  war-dresses ;  they  elected 
captains  of  tens,  fifties,  and  forties,  laid  chains  through 
the  streets,  and  had  watches  placed  at  the  gates." 

The  Duke  d'Anjou,  without  taking  any  notice  of 
all  this,  resolved  upon  having  a  new  tax  of  one- 
twelfth  denier  on  all  provisions.  It  was  a  difficult 
thing  to  find  a  man  bold  enough  to  announce  the 
raising  of  that  tax  ;    at  last  one  individual  undertook 


326  THE   MAILLOTINS. 

the  duty,  and  riding  in  the  market-place,  he  exclaimed, 
in  a  loud  voice — "  The  king's  plate  has  been  stolen  ; 
he  who  brings  it  back  shall  be  duly  rewarded ! " 
Having  by  this  announcement  gathered  a  crowd,  he 
added,  "To-morrow  the  tax  shall  be  raised,"  then, 
putting  spur  to  his  horse,  he  rode  off  as  fast  as  he 
could. 

The  next  day  one  of  the  collectors  ventured  to 
ask  one  so/  from  an  old  woman  who  sold  water- 
cress ;  he  was  immediately  knocked  down  and  killed. 
So  terrible  was  the  alarm  that  the  bishop,  the 
principal  citizens,  and  even  the  provost,  whose  busi- 
ness it  was  to  maintain  order,  left  Paris.  The  in- 
furiated mob  ran  through  the  city  armed  with 
new  leaden  mallets  {jnaillets)  which  they  had  taken 
in  the  arsenal  ;  they  made  a  frightful  slaughter  of 
the  tax  collectors  ;  one  of  them  had  sought  refuge 
in  the  church  of  Saint  Jacques,  and  clung  to  a  statue 
of  the  Virgin  ;  he  was  put  to  death  on  the  very 
altar  (March  i,  1382).  They  sacked  the  rich  abbey 
of  Saint  Germain  des  Pres  under  the  pretext  that 
collectors  and  Jews  had  retired  there. 

From  Vincennes,  where  they  had  withdrawn  for 
safety,  the  princes  watched  the  progress  of  the  riot ;  as 
soon  as  they  saw  that  public  feeling  was  declaring 
against  the  excesses  committed  by  the  maillotiiis,  they 
applied  to  the  university  and  the  leading  citizens, 
requesting  them  to  act  as  mediators.  It  was  agreed 
on  both  sides  that  the  city  of  Paris  should  allow  to 
the  king  a  grant  of  one  hundred  thousand  francs  ; 
in  return  of  this  concession,  Charles  VI.  was  to 
abolish  th:;  new  tax,  and  make  a  solemn  entry  in 
the  capital  (May,  1382). 


GENERAL    RISIXG    OF    THE   PEOPLE.  Zl"} 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  sedition  was 
confined  to  Paris  ;  at  Rouen,  at  Orleans,  at  Chalons, 
and  at  Troyes,  similar  scenes  occurred  ;  in  Languedoc 
the  peasants  flew  to  arms  under  the  name  of  titchiiis. 

As  M.  Michelet  remarks  ("  Histoire  de  France,"  vi.) 
it  seemed  as  if  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  Europe  a  war  was  beginning,  of  the  little  against 
the  great,  the  proletariate  against  the  nobles.  The 
"  white  hoods "  of  Flanders  followed  a  citizen  of 
Ghent;  the  Florentine  "ciompi"  had  for  leader  a 
wool-carder  ;  the  people  of  Rouen  compelled  a  draper 
to  assume  the  supreme  command  ;  in  England  Wat 
Tyler  at  the  head  of  the  mob  obliged  the  king  to 
grant  freedom  to  the  serfs. 

It  was  generally  felt  that  this  revolutionary  move- 
ment originated  with  the  inhabitants  of  Ghent,  who 
had  been  for  many  years  struggling  for  their  freedom 
against  the  counts  of  Flanders.  '"  On  the  part  of  the 
counts,"  says  Mr.  Taylor  'preface  to  "  Philip  van 
Arteveldt  "),  were  Bruges,  Oudenarde,  Dendermonde, 
Lille,  and  Tournay  ;  and  those  on  the  part  of  Ghent 
were  Damme,  Ypres,  Courtray,  Grammont,  Popering- 
hen,  and  Messines  —  a  war  which  in  its  progress 
extended  to  the  whole  of  Flanders,  and  excited  a 
degree  of  interest  in  all  the  civilized  countries  of 
Europe  for  which  the  cause  must  be  sought  in  the 
state  of  European  communities  at  the  time.  It 
was  believed  that  entire  success  on  the  part  of  Ghent 
would  bring  on  a  general  rising  almost  throughout 
Christendom,  of  the  comm"onalty  against  the  feudal 
lords  and  men  of  substance.  The  incorporation  of 
the    citizens    of  Paris   known   by   the  name  of  "  the 


228  BATTLE   OF  ROOSEBEKE. 

army  with  mallets "  {inaillotins)  was,  according  to 
the  well-known  chronicler  of  the  period,  '"'all  by  the 
example  of  them  of  Ghent."  Nicolas  le  Flamand 
deterred  them  from  pulling  down  the  Louvre,  by 
urging  the  expediency  of  waiting  to  see  what  suc- 
cess might  attend  the  Flemish  insurgents." 

The  princes  were  naturally  anxious  to  crush  the 
rebellion  in  its  principal  centre,  and  raised  an  army 
to  assist  the  Count  of  Flanders  in  subduing  the 
inhabitants  of  Ghent.  On  the  26th  of  November, 
1382,  the  feudal  army,  commanded  by  the  younj^ 
king,  Charles  VI.,  and  by  his  uncle  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  met  at  Roosebeke  the  troops  of  the  Flemish 
communes,  led  by  Philip  van  Arteveldt,  son  of  the 
famous  brewer  of  whom  we  have  already  spoken.  The 
battle  was  fought  on  the  next  day,  and  in  the  midst 
of  a  thick  fog  the  rebels  displayed  such  courage  that 
the  French  knights  were  driven  back  for  a  short  time. 
Constable  Olivier  de  Clisson,  however,  following  the 
plan  adopted  by  Duguesclin  at  Cocherel,  turned 
round  the  encm}',  cut  off  their  retreat  and  made  a 
frightful  havoc  of  them.  Arteveldt  himself  and 
twenty-five  thousand  of  his  men  were  killed  ;  the  loss 
was  very  serious  also  on  the  side  of  the  French. 

Great  was  the  consternation  of  the  Parisians  when 
the  news  of  the  battle  of  Roosebeke  reached  them. 
The  royal  army  entered  Paris  as  if  it  had  been  a  city 
reduced  to  submission.  The  inhabitants  fancied  that 
by  making  a  display  of  their  strength  they  would 
obtain  better  conditions  ;  they  paraded  at  the  foot 
of  Montmartre  in  a  long  array  of  armed  men  ;  there 
was    a    company    of   crossbow    men,  one  of  soldiers 


THE   MAILLOTINS.  229 

with  swords  and  bucklers,  one  of  w^/ZA'/zV/i' amounting 
by  itself  to  twenty  thousand  men.  This  exhibition 
only  served  to  exasperate  the  princes.  The  gates  of 
the  city  were  torn  down  and  trampled  under  foot,  the 
soldiers  were  billeted  upon  the  citizens,  the  street- 
cliains  were  removed  and  every  one  was  ordered  to 
give  up  at  once  all  kinds  of  weapons.  One  chronicler 
tells  us  that  the  amount  of  arms  thus  left  either  at 
the  palace  or  at  the  Louvre,  would  have  sufficed  for 
an  army  of  eight  hundred  thousand  men.  Then 
came  the  executions.  A  few  of  the  ringleaders  were 
put  to  death.  Finally,  money  had  to  be  forthcoming  : 
all  the  rich  bourgeois  were  taxed  so  heavily  that  some 
of  them  paid  more  than  they  really  possessed.  When 
nothing  more  could  be  squeezed  out  of  the  pockets  of 
tlie  Parisians,  an  edict,  solemnly  proclaimed,  re-estab- 
lished all  the  old  taxes  further  increased.  Complaint 
was  impossible  ;  there  was  no  couiiniuie,  no  provost,  no 
magistrates,  no  city  of  Paris.  Rouen,  Reims,  Chalons, 
Orleans,  Troyes,  and  Sens,  were  treated  pretty 
nearly  in  the  same  manner;  most  of  the  money 
thus  iniquitously  extorted  went  towards  enriching 
a  ^e\v  of  the  barons,  and  the  public  treasury  very 
little  profited  by  it. 

Not  only  did  those  measures  produce  no  effect, 
but  dissensions  took  place  even  amongst  the  king's 
advisers.  The  old  trusty  councillors  of  Charles  V. 
remonstrated,  endeavoured  to  enlighten  the  young 
monarch  on  the  conduct  of  his  uncles,  and  advised 
him  to  take  the  reins  of  government  into  his  own 
hands.  Accordingly  during  the  month  of  October, 
"^2)^7^  a-   great   assembly  of  prelates  and   barons  was 


230  THE   MARMOUSETS. 

summoned  at  Reims  ;  the  Dukes  of  Berry  and  of 
Burgundy  were  present  ;  the  Duke  d'Aajou  had 
recently  died  in  Italy.  Charles  VI.  having  asked 
the  assembly  to  advise  him  as  to  the  best  way  of 
remedying  the  evils  from  which  the  realm  was 
suffering,  Peter  de  Montaigu,  Bishop  of  Laon,  sup- 
ported by  the  Archbishop  of  Reims,  Olivier  de 
CHsson,  and  other  enemies  of  the  regents,  declared 
that  his  majesty  being  now  twenty-one  years  old 
could  govern  by  himself.  The  Dukes  of  Berry  and 
Burgundy  were  furious  ;  they  left  the  court,  but  they 
made  the  Bishop  of  Laon  pay  for  his  boldness  ;  he 
died  of  poison. 

The  departure  of  the  king's  uncles  produced  two 
good  effects  ;  in  the  first  place,  these  princes  could 
now  attend  to  their  respective  dominions,  re-establish 
order  and  commerce,  drive  away  brigands  and 
suspicious  characters,  &c.  Next,  the  new  advisers  of 
the  weak  Charles  VI.,  La  Riviere,  Clisson,  and  others, 
were  men  of  steady  judgment,  and  liberal  principles, 
desirous  of  re-establishing  the  administration  of 
justice,  reducing  the  taxes  and  giving  up  all  the 
rash  and  senseless  undertakings  planned  by  their 
predecessors.  They  were  contemptuously  nicknamed 
the  Man/iouscts,  because  they  had  sprung  chiefly  from 
the  people,  and  were  of  very  humble  extraction. 
If  they  had  been  able  to  retain  office  they  would 
have  no  doubt  done  much  for  France,  but  a  melan- 
choly event  upset  all  these  hopes  and  brought  fresh 
calamities  to  France. 

Olivier  de  Clisson,  one  of  the  Mannoiisets,  had 
managed  to  incur  the  hatred  of  two  powerful  noble- 


232  ATTEMPT    UPON   CLISSON. 

men — one  being  the  Duke  of  Brittany  himself,  who 
naturally  was  watched  with  suspicion  by  the  Constable, 
the  sworn  friend  of  the  house  of  Anjou  and  Penthievre. 
Clisson  longed  for  the  moment  when  he  would  be 
able  to  drive  away  to  England  the  Duke  of  Brittany 
and  to  rid  France  of  the  Montfort  family.  Another 
nobleman,  but  not  of  quite  so  high  an  origin,  was 
Peter  de  Craon,  a  despicable  character,  retainer  of  the 
late  Duke  d' Anjou,  whose  treasury  he  had  robbed 
and  whose  death  he  had  caused.  He  promised  to 
the  Duke  of  Brittany  that  he  would  rid  him  of  his 
enemy,  and  did  so  accordingly.  One  evening,  Clisson 
had  just  left  the  king  when  he  was  attacked  by  a 
band  of  desperadoes  at  the  head  of  which  was  Pierre 
de  Craon  himself.  He  was  not  killed,  but  seriously 
wounded,  and  Charles  VI.  promised  that  he  would 
avenge  him  in  the  most  signal  manner.  An  army 
was  assembled  and  the  monarch  who  had  only  just  re- 
covered from  a  severe  attack  of  fever  determined,  con- 
trary to  the  advice  of  the  physicians,  upon  command- 
ing the  royal  forces  in  person.  He  would  march  into 
Brittany,  and  put  to  death  both  John  de  Montfort 
and  Pierre  de  Craon,  who  had  taken  refuge  at  his 
Court. 

It  was  in  summer  (August  5,  1392)  when  the 
army  entered  the  forest  of  Le  Mans.  The  heat  was 
intolerable.  Suddenly  a  man,  bareheaded  and 
wretchedly  clothctl,  rushed  forward  and  seizing  hold 
of  the  reins  of  the  king's  charger,  exclaimed,  "  King, 
do  not  move  one  step  further,  but  return ;  you  are 
betrayed  !  "  The  man  should  have  been  arrested  ; 
he  was  allowed   to  get  'dway.     Startled  and  terrified 


CHARLES    VI.    STRUCK    WITH   MADNESS.        233 

by  this  strange  incident,  Charles  VI.  proceeded,  when 
the  lances  carried  by  two  pages  riding  rear  him 
happened  to  strike  against  each  other,  and  at  the 
noise  he  shouieJ  :  "  Death  to  the  traitors  !  "  then 
drawing  his  sword  he  rushed  upon  his  escort,  killing 
and  wounding  several  men,  and  threatening  even 
his  brother.  Every  one  fled,  but  at  last  the  un- 
fortunate monarch  was  seized,  disarmed,  and  brought 
back  from  Le  Mans  to  Creil.  The  first  thought  which 
occurred  to  every  one  was  that  he  had  been  either 
poisoned  or  "  bewitched."  The  fact  is  that  his  de- 
baucheries, his  violent  passions,  and  the  intoxicating 
influence  of  royal  power,  had  predisposed  his  weak 
head  to  an  attack  of  madness  which  was  now  brought 
about  by  sudden  excitement  and  by  a  sun-stroke. 


XII. 


SECOND    PART   OF   THE   REIGN   OF   CHAKLES   VI. 
(1392-I422.) 

Some  one  havin<:^  remarked  to  the  Duke  de  Berry 
that  the  king  was  either  "  poisoned  or  bewitched," 
"  Yes,  by  bad  advice,"  was  the  answer.  This  was  the 
death  warrant  of  the  Marmoiiseis,  so  to  say.  CHsson 
hastened  to  retire  to  Brittany,  Montaigu  went  off  to 
Avignon  ;  La  Riviere,Novion,  and  LeBegue  de  Vilaines 
were  sent  to  the  Bastile.  Restored  to  power,  the 
princes  succeeded  in  governing  France  a  httle  more 
deplorably  than  their  predecessors  had  done.  They 
concluded  with  England  a  truce  of  twenty-eight  years 
(1395),  and  gave  a  daughter  of  Charles  VI.  in  mar- 
riage to  Richard  II..  but  the  death  of  that  king 
nullified  the  advantages  which  might  have  resulted 
from  the  union. 

The  Crusade  of  1396  is  another  rash  and  useless 
deed  which  brought  into  disrepute  the  new  adminis- 
tration. The  Turks  had,  during  the  last  forty  years, 
gradually  secured  a  footing  in  Europe.  They  had 
crossed  the  Bosphorus,  taken  Adrianople,  and  con- 
quered part  of  the  valley  of  the  Danube  ;  they  were 
now  threatening  Hungary.  A  Crusade  was  resolved 
upon,  and    the  Count    de    Nevers,  afterwards    better 


ISABELLE   OF  BAVARIA.  235 

known  as  John  the  Fearless  (Jean  sans  Peur),  Duke  of 
Burgundy,  took  the  command.  He  was  only  twenty- 
four  years  old,  and  thought,  as  well  as  all  his  followers, 
that  a  Crusade  was  a  kind  of  pleasure  trip.  Despising 
the  wise  advice  of  the  King  of  Hungary,  Sigismund, 
they  engaged  the  battle  at  Nicopolis  with  a  total  dis- 
regard of  all  the  rules  of  tactics,  and  were  signally 
defeated.  The  Sultan  Bajazet  ordered  ten  thousand 
captives  to  be  beheaded  in  his  presence,  excepting 
from  the  massacre  only  the  Count  de  Nevers  and 
twenty-four  lords,  who  had  to  pay  a  heavy  ransom. 

Isabelle  of  Bavaria  must  not  be  forgotten  amongst 
the  personages  of  this  mournful  drama.  She  was  not 
fifteen  years  old  when  she  left  Germany  to  become 
the  bride  of  Charles  VI.  Without  relatives,  without  a 
guide  in  the  most  corrupt  Court  in  Europe,she  adopted 
the  manners  and  habits  of  her  entourage,  s.r\6.  indulged 
to  the  full  her  taste  for  luxury  and  pleasures.  Instead 
of  sobering  her  down,  time  merely  developed  her  evil 
habits.  From  frivolity  she  sank  down  to  debauchery, 
and  made  use  of  her  authority  for  the  exclusive  pur- 
pose of  satisfying  her  passions  and  her  revengeful 
nature. 

The  Duke  d'Orlean.s,  husband  of  the  beautiful  and 
accomplished  Valentine  Visconti,  had  been  her  lover. 
She  saw  him  massacred  by  some  of  the  followers  of 
John  the  Fearless,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  was  jealous 
of  his  popularity,  and  wished  to  retain  the  power  in 
his  own  hands.  We  have  all  the  particulars  of  this 
terrible  deed.  Since  the  attempted  murder  of  Olivier 
de  Clisson  it  was  quite  evident  that  the  closest  verifi- 
cation alone  could  guarantee  that  the  victim  was  really 


236  MURDER   OF   THE   DUKE   D'ORLEANS. 

and  unmistakably  dead.  Accordingly  a  man  carrying 
a  lighted  wisp  of  straw  came  forward  and  examined 
for  himself  if  the  intentions  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
had  been  carried  out.  In  this  case  no  hesitation  was 
possible  ;  the  corpse  v.as  literally  hacked  to  pieces  ; 
the  right  arm  cut  through  in  two  places,  at  the  elbow 
and  at  the  wrist  ;  the  left  wrist  thrown  to  a  distance, 
as  if  from  the  violence  of  the  blow  ;  the  head  open 
from  ear  to  ear  ;  the  skull  broken,  and  the  brains  scat- 
tered all  over  the  pavement.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy 
wanted,  at  first,  to  justify  his  action,  but  thinking  that 
he  might  perhaps  run  the  chance  of  being  arrested, 
he  fled  to  his  possessions  in  Flanders,  from  whence 
he  ordered  it  to  be  said,  preached,  and  written,  that 
by  causing  the  Duke  d'Orleans  to  be  murdered  he 
had  merely  anticipated  the  sinister  designs  of  that 
prince.  He  then  marched  (1408)  against  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Liege  who  had  rebelled,  and  defeated  them 
at  Hasbain  with  the  slaughter  of  twenty-five  thousand 
of  their  men.  In  the  meanwhile  a  popular  preacher, 
Jean  Petit,  undertook  to  justify  the  foul  deed  of  John 
the  Fearless.  Mounting  the  pulpit  he  proved,  by  twelve 
arguments,  in  honour  of  the  twelve  apostles,  that  the 
Duke  d'Orleans  had  d  served  his  fate.  i.  Because  he 
was  suspected  of  heresy.  2.  Because  he  armed  at 
usurping  the  throne.  3.  Because  the  State  would  have 
found  in  him  a  tyrant.  Strengthened  by  this  extra- 
ordinary sermon,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  returned  to 
Paris,  and  succeeded  in  wresting  from  the  imbecile 
king  letters  of  remission  declaring  that  he,  Charles  VI., 
entertained  no  ill-will  against  the  duke  for  having  "  put 
out  of  the  world  his   brother,  the  Duke  d'Uricaus  " 


DEATH  OF    VALENTINE    VISCONTI.  237 

(Teace  of  Chartres,  March,  1409).  As  for  poor  Valen- 
tine Visconti,  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  her 
husband's  death  killed  her.  She  had  taken  as  her 
motto:  "  Rien  ne  m'est  plus,  plus  ne  m'est  rien,"  and 
died  broken-hearted   in    1408. 

John  the  Fearless  made  himself  extremely  popular 
by  opposing  the  levying  of  fresh  taxes,  promising  a 
reduction  of  the  old  ones,  and  behaving  most  affably 
to  "  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men."  He  was  espe- 
cially courteous  to  the  Parisians,  restored  to  them  all 
their  old  privileges,  and  even  obtained  for  them  the 
important  right  of  possessing  "  noble  fiefs,"  with  all 
the  advantages  belonging  to  them.  It  was  in  the 
people  of  the  market-place  (/es  gens  des  Jialles),  says 
an  historian,  that  the  strength  of  the  Bourguignon 
faction  resided  in  Paris.  These  concessions  to  the  mob 
increased  the  displeasure  of  the  Orleanists,  and  of  all 
those  who  represented  the  old  feudal  party  ;  they  took 
as  their  leader  the  Count  d'Armagnac,  father-in-law  of 
one  of  the  murdered  duke's  sons. 

The  situation  of  the  kingdom  was  indeed  deplor- 
able; and  did  no  protest  arise,  no  cry  of  indignation, 
no  appeals  to  the  patriotism  of  true  Frenchmen  .-* 
Yes  ;  three  eloquent  voices  made  themselves  heard, 
three  writers  won  their  reputation  by  denouncing  the 
crimes  of  some  and  the  cowardice  or  want  of  energy 
of  the  rest. 

Look  at  the  condition  of  the  people.  Bears,  lions, 
leopards,  wolves,  that  is  to  say,  the  nobles  combined 
to  fleece  the  cattle.  The  ass,  the  cow,  the  ox,  the 
goat,  the  sow,  come  in  turns  to  bend  the  knee  before 
the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest ;  the  sheep  ventures 
timidly  to  say  that  she  has  been  already-^ 


23S  EU  ST  ACHE   DESCHAMPS. 

"  Quatre  fois  plumee 
Cest  an-cy." 

To  these  doleful  and  piteous  moanings  of  the  common 
people  a  concert  of  sharp  and  threatening  voices 
answers — 

"  Sa,  de  I'argent  !     Sa,  de  I'argent  !  " 

"  Money  !  Money  !  "  Such  is  the  cry  which  all  the 
day  long  sounds  in  the  ears  of  the  famished  people. 
Every  now  and  then,  driven  to  frenzy,  they  rise,  put 
to  death  the  collectors  of  the  taxes,  and  then, 
astonished  at  their  own  victory,  they  fall  down  again 
under  the  yoke  ;  and  hear  the  barons  on  one  side,  and 
the  king's  lawyers  on  the  other,  pressing  them — those, 
sword  in  hand,  these  armed  with  a  long  piece  of 
parchment,  and  repeating,  as  before — 

"  Sa,  de  I'argent !     Sa,  de  I'argent  !  " 

Sometimes  Eustache  Deschamps  (such  was  the 
name  of  that  patriotic  songster)  directs  his  violent 
invective  against  the  foreign  enemies  of  France,  the 
victors  of  Cressy  and  Poitiers — 

"  Selon  le  Brut  de  I'isle  des  Geants 
Qui  depuis  fust  Albion  appelee 
Peuple  mandit,  tar  dis  (tardily')  en  Dieu  creans. 
Sera  I'isle  de  tout  point  desolee. 
Par  leus  orgueil  vient  la  dure  journee 

Dont  leur  prophete  Merlin, 
Pronostica  leur  douloureux  fin, 
Quand  il  escript  :  vie  perdrez  ef  terre. 
Lors  monstrerunt  estrangiers  et  voisin. 
Oil,  temps  jadis  {in  fornuT  ti?nes)  estoit  cy  {here  was)  Angleterre." 

Next  to  Eustache  Deschamps,  Alain  Chart  ier  takes 
up  his  parable  against  his  fellow  citizens,  and  in  the 


ALAIN   CH  ARTIER— CHRISTINE   DE   PI  SAN.         239 

■'Quadriloge  invectif"  shows  that  all  the  four  orders 
of  the  State  are  equally  responsible  for  the  grievous 
woes  which  God  has  sent  upon  the  country.  "  Where 
is  Nineveh,  the  great  city  around  which  it  took  three 
da}^s  to  walk  ?  What  has  become  of  Babylon,  cun- 
ningly built  in  order  that  it  might  last  longer,  and 
which  is  now  a  dwelling  for  reptiles?"  Is  France 
doomed  to  mix  her  dust  with  that  of  other  nations  ?  or 
is  this  only  a  terrible  and  transitory  affliction  ?  "  I 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  hand  of  God  is 
upon  us."  If  God  punishes,  the  French  must  be 
guilty. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  Christine  de  Pisan,  that 
true  patriot  who,  although  Italian  by  birth,  was  more 
French  at  heart  than  many  who  boasted  of  their 
nationality.  The  letter  in  which  she  reminded  Isa- 
belle  of  Bavaria  of  her  duties  as  a  queen  and  a  mother, 
is  a  monument  of  genuine  eloquence.  At  every  fresh 
misfortune  which  visits  the  house  of  France  she  utters 
a  cry  of  alarm  ;  she  styles  herself  "une  povre  voix 
criant  dans  ce  royaume,  desireuse  de  paix  ct  du 
bien  de  tous."  The  weakest  appeal  may  often  remind 
men  of  their  duties — 

"  Si  [ihcrefoi  e)  ne  veuillez  mespriser  mon  ouvrage, 
Mon  redouble  seigneur,  huniain  et  saige. 

Car  petite  clochette  grant  voix  sonne, 
Qui  bien  souvent  les  plus  saiges  reveille." 

In  spite  of  these  cautions  the  civil  war  continued  to 
rage  with  all  its  violence  ;  the  Armagnacs  prevailed 
in  the  west  and  the  south,  the  Bourguignons  in  the 
north  and  the  east.     The  former  wore  a  white  scarf, 


240  BURGUNDtANS   AND  ARMAGNACS. 

the  latter  a  blue  cap  with  the  cross  of  Saint  Andrew 
in  white,  2. fleiir-de-lys  in  the  centre,  and  the  motto: 
"  Vive  Ic  Roy  !  " 

The  Duke  of  Burgundy  fortified  himself  in  Ps.ns, 
armed  the  populace,  and  abandoned  the  power  to  a 
considerable  extent  to  the  co-operation  of  the  butchers, 
who  kept  the  rest  of  the  population  in  awe,  and  had 
for  their  leaders  the  '^d.y&x  {ecorcheiw)  Caboche,  a  surgeon 
named  Jean  de  Troyes,  and  Capeluche,  the  common 
hangman.  The  nobles  and  rich  citizens  were 
thoroughly  frightened,  and  more  than  fifteen  hundred 
of  them,  having  the  provost  at  their  head,  left  Paris, 
and  retired  to  Melun. 

The  excesses  committed  by  the  Burgundians 
brought  about  a  reaction  ;  the  Arinagnacs  returned 
to  favour,  and  the  rival  leaders  seemed  on  the  point 
of  being  reconciled  to  each  other,  when  news  came 
that  Henry  V.,  King  of  England,  had  landed  at  Har- 
fleur  (August  14,  141 5).  Before  entering  upon  a  new 
war  he  had  endeavoured  to  obtain  by  negotiations 
the  whole  of  Normandy  and  the  provinces  ceded  to 
hini  by  the  treaty  of  Bretigny,  but  finding  his  exorbi- 
tant pretensions  indignantly  refused,  he  besieged  Har- 
flcur,  took  it  after  a  siege  which  lasted  a  whole  month, 
and  cost  him  fifteen  thousand  men  ;  then  marching  into 
Picardy,  met  the  French  army  between  the  villages 
of  Tramecourt  and  Azincourt.  The  French  spent 
on  horseback  the  night  before  the  battle,  and  when  the 
dawn  came  both  men  and  horses  were  thoroughly 
worn  out.  The  English,  on  their  side,  says  a  chronicler, 
sounded  all  night  long  their  trumpets  and  different 
kinds    of    musical    instruments,    so    much    so   that 


HEAD-DRESS  OF  THE   HFTEENTH   CENTURY. 


242  BATTLE   OF  AZINCOURT. 

the  whole  earth  around  re-echoed  with  the  noise 
aUhough  they  were  sad,  weary,  and  suffering  from 
famine  and  other  miseries.  They  made  their  peace 
with  God  confessing  their  sins,  weeping,  and  partaking 
of  our  Lord's  body,  for  they  expected  death  the  next 
day.  And,  indeed,  it  seemed  hardly  probable  that 
twelve  thousand  Englishmen  decimated  by  privations 
and  illness  could  be  capable  of  resisting  fifty  thousand 
fresh  troops  composed  of  the  flower  of  French  chivalry. 

The  battle  began  the  next  morning  at  eleven 
o'clock.  The  English  archers  discharged  upon  the 
feudal  cavalry  a  shower  of  arrows  which  did  terrible 
effect.  The  spot  where  that  cavalry  stood  was  soft 
and  cut  up  by  the  hor>c^,  in  such  a  manner  that  they 
could  hardly  move.  Their  armour,  besides,  was  ex- 
tremely heavy,  and  they  were  so  closely  packed 
together  that  the}'  had  great  difficulty  in  moving  their 
arms  to  strike  the  enemy,  except  those  who  were  at 
the  first  rank.  The  English  archers,  lightly  clad, 
seeing  them  thus  discomfited,  threw  away  their  bows 
and  arrows  and  seizing  tlieir  swords,  axes,  and  mallets 
tipped  with  lead,  rushed  amidst  the  French.  They 
knocked  them  down  as  though  they  were  heaps  ;  you 
might  have  thought  they  were  striking  so  many  anvils  ; 
thus  the  noble  Frenchmen  fell  upon  the  top  of  one 
another  ;  some  were  smothered  to  death  ;  others 
killed  or  taken  prisoners. 

Never  was  there  a  more  complete,  or  more  humili- 
ating, defeat  ;  the  proud  T^rench  knights  had  been 
vanquished,  not  by  English  noblemen  and  gentlemen, 
but  by  merely  archers  on  foot,  by  mercenaries  five 
imes  less  in    numbers.    Eight  thousand  i^ciitilshoinmes 


SEVERE  LOSSES   OF   THE   FRENCH. 


243 


remained  on  the  battle-field,  notwithstanding  prodigies 
of  valour  ;  amongst  them  were  the  Duke  of  Brabant, 
and  the  Count  de  Nevers,  both  brothers  of  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy,  the  Duke  of  Bar,  the  Duke  d'Alen^on, 


and  the  Constable  d'Albret  ;  the  Duke  d'Orleans  w  as 
severely  wounded  and  remained  for  a  long  time 
amongst  the  dead. 

The  Duke  of  Burgundy  on  hearing  of  the  disaster 


244  FRESH   MASSACRES   IN   PARIS. 

at  Azincourt,  pretended  to  be  very  indignant,  and 
marching  towards  Paris  at  the  head  of  his  army, 
announced  loudly  his  intention  of  chastising  the 
English,  and  of  restoring  the  king  to  the  full  enjoy- 
ment of  his  power  ;  in  reality  his  only  desire  was  to 
reconquer  his  own  authority.  On  arriving,  however, 
he  found  not  only  that  Armagnac  (now  created  Con- 
stable of  France  and  Superintendent-General  of  the 
finances)  had  forestalled  him,  but  that  an  express 
order  of  the  king  prohibited  him  (John  the  Fearless) 
from  entering  the  capital.  Nothing  daunted,  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy  issued  a  manifesto  which  secured 
to  him  the  good- will  of  several  important  towns  such  as 
Reims,  Chalons,  Tro\^es,  Auxcrre,  Amiens,  and  Rouen, 
and  having  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  help  of  a 
young  man  named  Perrinet  Leclerc,  whose  father  was 
warden  of  the  gate  of  Saint  Germain,  he  entered  Paris 
by  night  followed  by  his  soldiers,  and  made  a  fresh 
appeal  to  the  butchers  and  flayers.  The  massacre 
which  followed  was  terrible ;  the  Constable  d'Armagnac 
the  Chancellor  of  France,  the  bishops  of  Saintes, 
Coutances,  Evreux,  Senlis,  and  Bayeux,  the  Abbot  of 
Saint  Corneille  at  Compiegne,  two  presidents  in  the 
Court  of  Parliament,  and  a  crowd  of  noblemen 
citizens,  and  soldiers  were  put  to  the  sword  ;  the  total 
number  of  persons  killed  amounted  to  eight  h  undrd 
some  say  to  fifteen  hundred.  In  vain  did  one  of  the 
staunchest  Bourg-iii^i^iions,  Villiers  de  I'lsle  Adam  and 
the  Provost  of  Paris,  endeavour  to  stop  the  fury  of  the 
hangman  Capeluche  and  of  his  followers.  "A  fig  for 
your  justice  and  your  pity  !"  they  answered.  "  Cursed 
of  God  may  those  traitors  the  Armagnacs  be !     They 


CAPITULATION   OF  ROUEN.  245 

are  English,  they  are  dogs.  They  had  already  embroi- 
dered standards  for  the  King  of  England  and  wanted 
to  plant  them  on  he  gates  of  the  city.  They  used  to 
make  us  work  for  nothing,  and  when  we  asked  what 
was  our  due,  they  would  say  to  us  :  '  Scoundrels,  have 
}-ou  not  a  penny  wherewith  to  purchase  a  rope  and 
hang  yourselves  ? '  In  the  devil's  name,  plead  no  more 
for  them  ;  what  you  may  say  will  be  of  no  use."  The 
Provost  of  Paris  dare  not  resist  those  infuriated  men. 
"  Do  what  you  please,"  said  he,  turning  his  head  aside. 

One  month  after  these  massacres,  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
gundy and  Queen  Isabelle  returned  to  Paris  (July  14, 
1418);  the  national  party  seemed  hopelessly  destroyed, 
and  whilst  Charles,  Duke  of  Touraine,  and  now 
Dauphin,  through  the  death  of  his  two  elder  brothers, 
had  retired  to  Poitiers  with  the  view  of  organizing 
resistance  against  the  English  and  the  Boitrgiiignons 
combined,  Henry  V.  was  carrying  on  his  triumphal 
progress  through  Normandy.  Favoured  by  the  avowed 
complicity  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  he  had  taken 
Caen,  x\rgentan,  Alen^on,  Bayeux,  and  finally  Rouen 
which  capitulated  on  the  1 8th  of  January,  1419,  after 
a  long  and  stubborn  resistance. 

This  last  catastrophe  led  to  a  loud  manifestation  of 
the  national  spirit,  and  John  the  Fearless  was,  so  to 
say,  compelled  to  meet  the  Dauphin  at  a  conference 
with  view  to  a  reconciliation.  Corbeil  was  selected  as 
the  place  of  rendezvous,  and  a  second  interview  was 
appointed  to  be  held  on  the  bridge  of  IMontereau 
(September  10,  1419).  Tanguy  Duchatel,  who 
accompanied  the  Dauphin,  had  promised  that  no 
treachery   was  contemplated,  and  that  the  Duke  of 


246        THE   DUKE   OF  BURGUNDY   MURDERED. 

Burgundy  need  entertain  no  suspicion  ;  however  a  cry 
of  alarm  was  raised,  and  Tanguy  Duchatel  seizing  a 
battle-axe  struck  down  the  unfortunate  duke  who  fell 
on  his  knees  and  was  immediately  despatched.     The 


excitement  created  in  Paris  by  this  act  of  undoubted 
treachery  can  easily  be  imagined  ;  and  although  the 
followers  of  the  Dauphin  certainly  represented  the 
French  party,  Isabellc  of  Bavaria   induced    the   new 


TREATY  OF   TROYES.  247 

Duke  of  Burgundy,  Philip  the  Good,  to  condude  with 
Henry  V.  negotiations  which  uhimately  led  to  the 
infamous  treaty  of  Troyes  (May  21,  1420)  which 
handed  over  to  England  the  crown  of  France  and  the 
whole  kingdom.  The  wretched  Charles  VI.,  utterly 
in  the  power  and  under  the  control  of  an  abandoned 
queen,  and  of  the  Bourgnignons,  signed,  without  being 
aware  of  it,  the  agreement  which  excluded  his  own 
son  from  the  throne, 

Henry  V.  was  enthusiastically  received  in  Paris. 
Misery  had  killed  patriotism,  and  every  one  thought 
that  peace  was  at  last  secured.  The  clergy,  in  pro- 
cession, came  to  meet  the  two  kings,  and  brought 
them  the  holy  relics  to  kiss.  They  were  then  taken 
to  Notre  Dame  where  they  prayed  at  the  high  altar. 
Charles  VI.  retired  thence  to  the  Hotel  Saint  Pol  ; 
the  King  of  England  took  up  his  quarters  in  the 
fortress  of  the  Louvre  (December,  1420). 

The  task  was  not  quite  finished.  Some  time  after- 
wards, the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  his  mother  appeared 
before  the  King  of  France,  presiding  as  judge  at  the 
Hotel  Saint  Pol,  and  asked  of  him  vengeance  for  the 
"  piteous  death  of  the  late  Duke  John  of  Burgundy." 
Henry  V.  was  sitting  on  the  same  bench  as  Charles 
VI.  Master  Nicolas  Raulin,  pleading  for  the  plaintiffs, 
asked  that  Charles,  styling  himself  Dauphin,  Tanguy 
Duchatel,  and  all  the  murderers  of  the  late  duke 
should  be  led,  torch  in  hand,  through  the  squares  of 
Paris  in  a  cart  to  make  honourable  amende.  The  king's 
advocate  spoke  in  the  same  sense,  and  the  University 
delegates  agreed  thereto.  The  king  sanctioned  the 
prosecution,  and  Charles    was   summoned  to  appear 


248      THE   DAUPHIN  RETIRES   BEHIND    THE   LOIRE. 

within  three  days    before    the    parliament.       Having 
failed  to  do  it,  he  was  condemned,  by  default,  to  per- 
petual banishment,  and  declared  to  have  lost  all  his 
rii^hts  to  the  crown  of  France  (January  3,  1421). 
The  unfortunate  prince,  having  retired  behind  the 


Loire,  re-organized  the  national  party  and  appealed 
to  his  sword.  His  troops  defeated  the  English  at 
B.iuge  in  Anjou,  but  could  not  prevent  the  enemy 
from  talcing  Mcaux  and  several  other  places. 

Things    had    come    to    this   extremity   when   the 


DAETH   OF  HENRY    V.   AND    CHARLES    IV.        249 

almost  simultaneous  death  of  the  two  kings  gave 
to  the  treaty  of  Tro)-es  an  immediate  application. 
Henry  V.  disappeared  first  (August  31,  1422).  Six 
weeks  later  (October  2[st)  it  was  the  turn  of  Charles 
VI.  The  poor  demented  monarch  was  attended  at 
his  last  moments  only  by  his  chancellor,  his  chief 
chamberlain,  and  his  confessor.  No  prince  of  the 
blood,  not  even  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  accompanied 
his  remains  to  Saint  Denis.  An  Englishman,  the 
Duke  of  Bedford,  had  to  do  the  last  act  of  courtesy 
to  the  King  of  France.  Before  closing  the  tomb,  the 
heralds-at-arms,  holding  their  maces  reversed,  cried, 
"God  grant  peace  to  the  soul  of  Charles  VI.,  King  of 
Fiance,  and  God  give  long  life  to  Henry  VI.,  King  of 
France  and  of  England,  our  sovereign  lord  !  " 

Intelligent  and  far-seeing  people  knew  pretty  well 
that  matters  were  not  .'ettled  yet.  Henry  V.  felt  so, 
and  he  is  reported  to  have  predicted  that  his  son 
would  not  retain  possession  of  what  had  been  so 
wonderfully  conquered.  As  for  the  nation,  crushed 
in  their  noblest  sentiments,  they  began  to  think  that 
the  affairs  of  this  world  brought  nothing  but  trouble 
and  vexation  of  spirit,  and  that  the  care  for  our 
salvation  is  the  one  thing  needful.  About  142 1  a 
book  appeared,  the  title  of  which  could  not  fail  to 
attract  notice,  and  which  commended  itself  to  all 
souls  driven  to  despair.  *'  L'internelle  Consolation  " 
has  frequently  been  ascribed  to  Jean  Charlier  de 
Gerson,  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Paris,  and  is 
certainly  worthy  of  that  truly  excellent  man.  It  is  a 
translation  of  the  "  De  imitatione  Christi  " — a  trans- 
lation   superior  to  the  original    by  its    boldness,  its 


250  AFFAIRS   OF   THE    CHURCH. 

feeling,  and  its  Jnnnan  character.  As  for  the  "  De 
imitatione"  itself,  it  is  the  work  neither  of  Thomas  a 
Kempis,  nor  of  Gerson  ;  it  is  the  production  of  the 
age,  and  if  many  nationalities  claim  it,  the  fact  simply 
shows  that  the  meditations,  counsels,  and  encourage- 
ments it  contains  express  the  feelings  of  a  society 
living  in  the  midst  of  the  most  terrible  corruption. 

The  Dauphin  Charles  was  at  Meung-sur- Loire  when 
the  news  reached  him  of  his  father's  death.  "  Great 
sadness  took  possession  of  his  heart,"  says  the 
Chronicler  Monstrelet  ;  "  he  wept  very  much,  and  put 
on  immediately  a  black  gown.  The  next  day  he 
attended  mass  clothed  in  a  red  gown,  and  then  was 
raised  the  banner  of  France,  and  the  Dauphin's 
herald-at-arms  cried  loudly  and  distinctly  :  '  Long 
life  to  Charles  VII.,  King  of  France  ! '  " 

The  affairs  of  the  Church  claim  our  attention  here, 
for  Charles  VL  was  obliged  to  interfere  with  them, 
and  the  University  of  Paris  took  an  important  part 
in  the  wranglings,  quarrels,  and  controversies'  resulting 
from  the  schism.  It  was  not  likely  that  either  a 
weak-headed  king  or  rival  princes  contending  for 
power  would  be  able  to  restore  peace  to  Christendom. 
Two  national  councils,  however,  summoned  at  Paiis, 
and  the  first  held  under  the  third  dynasty  of  kings, 
consulted  about  the  best  means  of  restoring  peace. 
The  only  remedy  was  the  convocation  of  a  general 
council.  It  was  held  at  Constance  from  1414  to 
14 1 8,  and  ended  in  the  deposition  of  the  two  rival 
Popes,  John  XXIII.  and  Benedict  XIII.,  and  the 
election  of  Martin  V.  (November  11,  14 17).  For 
the  first  time,  then,  and   in  order  to  prevent  a  new 


PIERRE  d'AILLY.  25 1 

schism,  it  was  ruled  that  general  councils  should  be 
superior  in  authority  to  the  Pope.  Heretics  were 
also  most  severely  dealt  with,  John  Huss  and 
Jerome  cf  Prague,  for  instance,  being  sentenced  to 
be  burnt  aHve.  Amongst  the  celebrated  Frenchmen 
who  took  an  important  part  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  council  of  Constance,  we  have  already  named 
Gerson  ;  we  must  not  forget  Pierre  d'Ailly,  Cardinal- 
bishop  of  Cambrai,  author  of  a  famous  work  entitled, 
"  Malleus  Haereticorum,"  and  one  of  the  most  learned 
divines  of  the  day.  The  schism  and  its  disastrous 
results  told  even  upon  popular  literature,  and  the 
appointment  of  Cardinal  Pietro  di  Luna  as  Pope  at 
Avignon  inspired  Eustache  Deschamps,  whom  we 
have  had  already  occasion  to  mention.  As  a  French- 
man and  a  Catholic  he  could  not  restrain  his  indigna- 
tion, and  composed  a  poem  entitled,  "  Du  Schisme  de 
I'Eglise  qui  est  aujourd'hui  moult  troublee  par  la  Lune." 
The  pun  is  a  wretched  one,  no  doubt,  and  the  joke 
in  bad  taste,  but  it  is  the  honest,  straightforward 
expression  of  a  true  patriot.  All  the  planets,  all 
the  powers  of  heaven,  says  Deschamps,  have  had  their 
turn — 

"  Mercure,  Mars,  Jupiter  et  Venus, 
Et  chalcun  d'eux  ensemble,  le  souleil, 
Ont  par  longtemps  regne,  et  Saturnus." 

Now  a  fresh  competitor  arises,  claiming  absolute 
power  over  the  firmament ;  the  poet  cannot  conceal 
his  feelings  of  despair — 

".  .    .   .  Tout  perira  :  c'est  mon  opinion, 
Puisque  je  voy  vouloir  regner  la  Lune." 

The  protest  of  Eustache  Deschamps  availed  naught 


252    "  APPARITION  DE  MAISTRE  JEHAN  DE  MEUNG.'' 

and  Pietro  di  Luna  was  promoted  under  the  name  of 
Benedict  XIII. 

We  all  remember  the  ingenious  way  in  which 
Montesquieu  and  Voltaire  use  fiction  as  a  convenient 
way  of  lashing  the  vices  of  their  contemporaries  and 
denouncing  the  corruption  which  eats  up  society. 
Honore  Bonnet,  Prior  of  Salons  in  Provence,  had 
recourse  to  that  style  of  composition,  and  in  his 
"Apparition  de  Maistre  Jehan  de  Meung"  he  in- 
troduced the  character  of  a  Turk  who  takes  upon 
himself  to  lecture  Christians,  even  popes  and  car- 
dinals. Exempt  of  passions  and  of  prejudices,  com- 
pletely disinterested  in  the  things  he  sees  around 
him,  during  the  course  of  a  trip  to  Western  Europe, 
the  stranger  deplores  the  results  of  the  schism  ;  he 
feels  that  discussions  on  matters  of  faith  arouse  in 
man  all  his  worst  passions — 

"  Pour  foy  laisse  pere  son  fils 
Le  frere  son  frere  en  peril, 
L'ami  son  ami  mettre  a  mort." 

As  Luther  was  to  do  later  on,  our  Saracen  visits 
Rome,  and  he  plainly  discovers  there  the  source  of  all 
the  evils  which  afflict  the  Church.  A  general  reform 
is  needed,  and  ii  the  chair  of  St.  Peter  is  not  filled 
by  popular  election,  the  faithful  will  decline  to  follow 
unworthy  leaders. 

"  Mais  je  voy,  le  temps  est  venus, 
Qu'ils  ne  en  seront  plus  creus ; 
Car  li  mondes  voit  per  expres 
Leurs  oultrages  et  leurs  exces." 

One  more  person  remains  to  be  named  in  connec- 
tion with  the  French  expression  of  reform  in  matters 


NICOLAS   DE    CLEMANGIS.  2^^ 

ecclesiastical,  and  that  is  Nicolas  de  Clemangis.  A 
faithful  churchman,  as  well  as  a  staunch  representative 
of  the  University  of  Paris,  he  denounced  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  Church  in  a  pamphlet  ("  De  corruptione 
ecclesiae  ")  which,  although  written  in  Latin,  is  the 
utterance  of  a  true  Frenchman,  and  which  biings 
before  our  eyes  a  faithful  picture  of  France  during 
the  fifteenth  century.  Nicolas  de  Clemangis  has 
often  been  regarded  as  a  precursor  of  the  reformers  ; 
he  was  really  a  Galilean  of  the  school  to  which 
Bossuet  afterwards  belonged. 

We  see  to  what  low  estate  France  had  sunk  ;  it 
seemed  as  if  she  stood  on  the  brink  of  a  precipice, 
and  the  question  was  how  she  could  recover  her 
liberty,  her  unity,  and  her  national  existence. 


XIII. 


CHARLES     VII.— END    OF    THE     HUNDRED    YEARS' 

WAR. 

(1422-I461.) 

There  were  two  kings  in  France  when  the  corpse 
of  Charles  VI.  was  lowered  down  into  the  grave  at 
Saint  Denis.  The  one,  an  infant  nine  months  old,  was 
grandson  of  the  late  monarch  on  his  mother's  side  ; 
his  two  uncles  governed  in  his  name,  the  Duke  of 
Bedford,  France ;  and  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  England. 
There  seemed,  at  first,  no  opposition  to  Henry  VI.  ; 
he  had  been  acknowledged  by  the  parliament,  the 
university,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  the  Queen  Isabelle 
of  Bavaria,  and  the  principal  members  of  the  nobility. 
His  rule  was  obeyed  in  Paris,  He  de  France,  Picardy, 
Artois,  Flanders,  Champagne,  and  Normandy,  that  is 
to  say,  nearly  all  the  provinces  north  of  the  Loire  ; 
in  the  South,  GuicMine  owned  his  sway. 

The  other  king,  contemptuously  designated  as  tlie 
king  of  Boiirges,  because  he  had  been  proclaimed  in 
Berry,  was  the  only  surviving  son  of  Charles  VI.,  a 
young  man  of  nineteen,  graceful,  but  of  a  delicate 
constitution,  a  good  scholar,  timid,  reserved,  and  too 
fond  of  pleasure.     Touraine,  Orlcanais,  Berry,  BoLir- 


BATTLES  OF   CRAVANT   AND   OF    VERNEUIL.    255 

bonnais,  Auvergne,  Languedoc,  Dauphine,  and  Ly^n- 
nais  were  the  only  provinces  which  recognized  his 
authority.  The  reign  of  Charles  VII.  began  in  a 
most  disastrous  manner,  and  the  two  successive 
defeats  endured  by  his  troops,  at  Cravant  (1423) 
and  at  Verneuil  (1424)  seemed  to  prove  that  France 
must  now  submit  definitively  to  English  rule. 

The  great  advantage  of  Charles  VII.  was  his 
nationality  ;  the  domination  of  foreigners  might  be 
endured,  but  it  was  detested  by  the  majority  of 
Frenchmen,  and  the  pride,  the  sternness  with  which 
they  exercised  their  authority  became  day  by  day 
more  hateful.  A  lively  cJiansonniev,  Olivier  Basselin, 
encouraged  in  spirited  songs  his  countrymen  to  drive 
the  enemy  out  of  the  land  : 

"  Entre  vous,  genz  de  village, 
Qui  aimez  le  roy  Fran^oys, 
Prenez  chacun  bon  courage, 
Pour  combattre  les  Engloys. 
Prenez  chascun  une  houe 
Pour  mieux  les  desraciner. 


Ne  craignez  point,  allez  battre 

Ces  goi/o/is  {G-d  ti-n),  panches  a  poys  [paumlies  full  of  peas). 

Car  ung  de  nous  en  vault  quatre, 

Au  moins  en  vault-il  bien  troys." 

Alain  Chartier,  another  patriotic  writer,  exhorted 
the  clergy,  the  nobility,  and  the  people  to  union  as 
the  only  resource  for  saving  France.  The  Duke 
d'Alengon  made  prisoner  by  the  English  at  the 
Battle  of  Verneuil,  refused  to  purchase  his  liberty  by 
subscribing  the  clauses  of  the  Treaty  of  Troyes.  The 
marriage  of  Charles  VII.  with   Mary   of  Anjou   had 


256  STRENGTHENING  THE  POWER   OF  CHARLES  Vlt. 

attached  to  his  cause  not  only  that  powerful  family, 
but  the  house  of  Lorraine ;  the  Count  of  Foix, 
Governor  of  Languedoc,  declared  that  his  conscience 
obliged  him  to  recognize  Charles  VII.  as  the  lawful 
king.  The  sword  of  constable  given  to  Arthur  de 
Richemont  had  had  the  effect  of  reconciling  to  the 
national  cause  Richemont's  brother,  John  VI.,  Dulce 
of  Brittany.  This  was  a  most  important  result,  for 
a  number  of  valiant  soldiers  and  distinguished  captains 
belonging  to  that  province  followed,  of  course,  in  the 
same  direction.  Duguesclin's  fellow-countrymen  de- 
voted to  the  service  of  France  their  courage  and  their 
lieroism.  By  dismissing  from  his  person,  on  Riche- 
mont's advice,  Tanguy  Duchatel,  and  the  other  actors 
in  the  tragedy  of  the  Bridge  of  Montereau,  Charles 
VII.  was  paving  the  way  towards  his  reconciliation 
with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  ;  Gloucester's  imprudent 
conduct  made  this  event  more  probable  still.  We 
must  remember  that  if  the  F!nglish  had  become 
masters  of  Paris,  and  obtained  the  Treaty  of  Troyes, 
it  was  entirely  owing  to  Philip  the  Good.  The  Duke 
of  Bedford,  Regent  of  France  on  behalf  of  Henry  VI., 
knew  this  perfectly  well,  and  accordingly  made  a 
point  of  keeping  on  the  best  terms  with  the  Duke 
of  Burgund}'.  Gloucester,  on  the  contrary,  by  marry- 
ing Jacqueline,  Countess  of  Holland,  Hainault,  and 
the  neighbouring  provinces,  had  become  master  of  a 
district  which  Philip  the  Good  was  by  no  means  dis- 
posed to  see  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  foreign  prince. 

These  various  circumstances  all  tended  to  strengthen 
the  power  of  Charles  VII.  The  provincial  towns,  on 
their  part,  were  beginning  to  show  signs  of  resistance 


SIEGE   OF   MONTARGIS.  257 

to  the  English — Montargis,  for  instance,  which,  com- 
manded by  La  Faille,  stood  bravely  a  siege  of  three 
months.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  garrison  sent 
word  to  the  king  that  they  had  neither  provisions  nor 
ammunition  left.  Dunois  and  La  Hire  started  imme- 
diately at  the  head  of  sixteen  hundred  men  intending 
to  force  their  way  into  the  town.  As  they  were  going 
along  La  Hire  met  a  priest  from  whom  he  requested 
absolution.  "  Confess  your  sins,  then,"  said  the  eccle- 
siastic. "  I  have  no  time  to  do  so,"  was  the  answer, 
"for  I  am  in  a  hurry  to  fall  upon  the  English  ;  besides, 
I  have  done  all  that  soldiers  are  wont  to  do."  The 
chaplain  having  rather  hesitatingly  pronounced  the 
sentence  of  absolution.  La  Hire  knelt  immediately  by 
the  wayside,  and  said  aloud  :  "  God,  I  pray  Thee  to  do 
this  day  on  La  Hire's  behalf  what  Thou  wouldst  that 
La  Hire  should  do  for  Thee,  supposing  he  was  God 
and  Thou  wast  La  Hire."  Having  thus  quieted  his 
conscience,  though  in  a  somewhat  uncanonical  manner, 
he  attacked  the  English  and  obliged  them  to  raise 
the  siege  of  Montargis. 

Orleans  was  the  city  the  possession  of  which  must 
needs  be  of  the  highest  consequence  to  the  English, 
as  being  the  key  to  Berry,  Poitou,  and  Bourbonnais. 
Orleans  once  taken,  nothing  remained  to  "  the  king 
of  Bourges  "  except  Languedoc  and  Dauphine.  The 
next  year,  therefore  (1428),  the  Duke  of  Bedford  de- 
termined upon  acting  more  vigorously  than  ever, and, at 
the  head  of  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men,  part  of 
whom  had  landed  at  Calais,  under  the  command  of 
Lord  Salisbury,  whilst  the  others  belonged  to  the  garri- 
son of  Normandy,  he  marched  towards  Orleans.     On 


258  SIEGE   OF  ORLEANS. 

his  road  he  took  Jargeau,  Janville,  Meung,  Thoun-, 
Beaugency,  Marchenoir,  and  La  Ferte  Hubert.  They 
arrived  before  the  place  on  the  12th  of  October,  1428, 
and  immediately  set  about  building  a  series  of  forta- 
lices  or  small  bastiles,  the  command  of  which  was 
assigned  to  the  most  renowned  captains,  such  as 
William  de  la  Poole,  Earl  of  Suffolk,  Lord  Talbot, 
and  William  Glasdale,  who  had  sworn  to  put  to  death 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  in  Orleans.  The  su- 
preme direction  was  entrusted  to  the  Earl  of 
Salisbury, 

The  city  must  be  saved  at  any  cost  ;  Charles  VIL 
appealed  to  the  nobility  and  to  the  States-General. 
He  obtained  100,000  crowns — a  large  sum  indeed, 
considering  the  miserable  condition  to  which  France 
was  reduced.  The  bravest  routiers,  Boussac,  Dunois, 
Xaintrailles,  La  Hire  placed  themselves  at  the  head 
of  the  garrison.  The  citizens,  determined  upon  making 
a  stout  resistance,  raised  a  municipal  tax,  and  formed 
themselves  into  thirty- four  companies,  each  of  which 
undertook  to  defend  one  of  the  towers  which  stood 
out  from  the  city  walls.  The  suburbs  were  destroyed 
for  fear  of  their  getting  into  the  power  of  the  enemy. 
Artillery  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  siege  of 
Orleans  ;  that  of  the  English  was  badly  served,  and 
excited  the  merriment  of  the  besieged,  who  made  fun 
of  those  eighty  pound  cannon  balls  which  killed  no 
one.  The  Orleanese,  on  the  contrary,  had  excellent 
gunners,  and  each  piece  had  its  special  part  and 
particular  duty.  Some  of  the  episodes  connected 
with  the  siege  are  amusing.  Here  is  one  :  At  dinner 
time,  one  day,  a  lad,  walking  on  the  ramparts,  found  a 


26o  ''battle  of  the  herrings." 

cannon  ready  loaded,  and  fired  it.  The  ball  killed 
the  Earl  of  Salisbury,  to  whom  William  Glasdal  i  was 
at  that  very  moment  saying,  "  My  lord,  you  see  your 
city."  The  greater  part  of  the  winter  thus  passed. 
In  February,  however,  a  stratagem  which  might  have 
saved  Orleans  was  on  the  point  of  putting  it  in  the 
possession  of  the  English.  The  Count  of  Clermont, 
who  was  arriving  to  the  assistance  of  the  besieged 
with  a  powerful  reinforcement,  wished  to  carry  off  a 
convoy  of  herrings  sent  by  the  Duke  of  Bedford  to 
the  besiegers  for  the  season  of  Lent.  He  unfortu- 
nately failed  with  the  loss  of  between  four  and  five 
hundred  men.  This  "Battle  of  the  Herrings"  tho- 
roughly disheartened  the  French.  All  their  chief 
leaders  gave  up  Orleans  as  hopelessly  lost.  The 
Count  of  Clermont  retired,  taking  away  with  him  the 
Chancellor,  the  Bishop  of  Orleans  himself,  La  Hire, 
and  two  thousand  men.  An  appeal  was  uselessly 
made  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  ;  the  Orleanese  were 
themselves  beginning  to  debate  whether  it  was  not 
better  to  live  as  subjects  of  the  King  of  England  than 
not  to  live  at  all.  It  was  then  that  Joan  of  Arc 
appeared. 

For  some  time  an  almost  universal  presentiment 
had  spread  that  France  was  to  be  saved  by  a  woman. 
The  prophecies  of  Merlin  said  so,  and  to  those 
prophecies  the  superstitious  part  of  the  population 
gave  the  utmost  credence.  Let  us  say  a  kw  words 
of  the  wonderful  person  whom  heaven  had  destined 
to  restore  the  nationality  of  France. 

Joan  was  born  at  the  small  village  of  Domrcmy,  in 
Lorraine,  on  the  6th  of  January,  141 2.     Her  father's 


JOAN  OF  ARC.     (Statue  by  Lefeuvre,) 


262  yOAN   OF  ARC. 

name  was  Jacques  d'Arc,  her  mother's,  Isabelle 
Romee.  It  was  a  family  of  honest,  hard-working 
agriculturists,  fearing  God,  and  bringing  up  their 
children  with  the  utmost  care.  Joan  grew  up  till  the 
age  of  thirteen  surrounded  by  the  best  examples,  at 
spending  her  time  in  tending  her  father's  flocks, 
and,  when  indoors,  in  plying  her  distaff. 

One  summer's  day,  about  the  hour  of  noon,  whilst 
she  was  in  the  garden  belonging  to  her  father's  cot- 
tage, she  saw  a  brilliant  light  in  the  direction  of  the 
church,  and  heard  a  voice  saying  to  her,  "  Joan,  be  a 
kind  and  good  child  ;  go  often  to  church."  She  was 
thoroughly  frightened.  By  and  by  she  had  visions; 
the  archangel  Saint  Michael,  Saint  Margaret,  and 
Saint  Catherine  conversed  familiarly  with  her,  and  ap- 
peared to  her  accompanied  by  millions  of  angels. 
"Joan,"  they  said,  "you  must  go  to  France."  On  one 
occasion  Saint  Michael  told  her  to  go  to  the  assistance 
of  the  King  of  Fran;e,  and  restore  to  him  his  kingdom. 
She  answered,  trembling  :  "  My  Lord,  I  am  only  a 
poor  girl,  and  I  could  neither  ride  nor  take  the  com- 
mand of  men-at-arms."  The  voice  continued  :  "You 
must  go  to  maistre  Robert  de  Baudricourt,  captain  ol 
Vaucouleurs,  and  he  v/ill  have  you  taken  to  the  king  ; 
Saint  Margaret  and  Saint  Catherine  will  come  to  your 
assistance." 

For  several  years  Joan  resisted,  frightened  at  the 
idea  of  so  new  a  mission,  and  disheartened  by  the 
taunts  of  her  father,  who  said  to  iier  that  she  had  lost 
her  senses.  One  of  her  uncles,  at  last,  allowing  him- 
self to  be  persuaded,  accompanied  her  to  Robert  de 
Baudricourt.     The  news  of  the  distress  of  Orleans  h?d 


yOAN  OF  ARC.  263 

reached  her,  and  her  voices  kept  repeating :  "  Hasten ! 
hasten  ! "  The  captain  of  Vaucouleurs,  in  the  first 
place,  laughed  at  her.  Nothing  daunted,  she  ex- 
claimed :  "  My  lord  captain,  know  that  God,  for  some 
time,  has  made  known  unto  me  and  ordered  me  on 
several  occasions  to  go  to  the  Dauphin  who  ought  to 
oc,  and  is,  the  true  King  of  France  ;  he  is  to  deliver 
unto  me  men-at-arms,  with  whom  I  shall  raise  the 
siege  of  Orleans,  and  take  the  king  to  Reims  to  be 
anointed."  Baudricourt  at  last  yielded.  He  gave  Joan 
a  sword  and  an  escort,  and  dismissed  her,  without 
having  much  confidence  in  the  success  of  her  mission, 
saying  :  "  Go,  and  happen  what  may  ! " 

On  the  5th  of  March,  1429,  about  noon,  Joan  of 
Arc,  dressed  in  military  attire,  entered  the  small  town 
of  Chinon,  where  Charles  VH.  happened  to  be.  He 
gave  her  audience,  but  in  order  to  put  her  to  the  test, 
he  concealed  himself  amongst  the  lords  and  noblemen 
who  formed  his  court.  Led  by  her  voices,  she  went 
straight  up  to  him,  and  said  :  "  God  grant  you  a  good 
life,  noble  prince."  "  I  am  not  the  king,"  answered 
Charles  ;  and,  pointing  to  one  of  the  lords  present, 
who  was  richly  dressed  :  "  Here  is  the  king."  Joan, 
without  allowing  herself  to  be  disconcerted,  exclaimed : 
"  In  God's  name,  gentle  prince,  it  is  you  who  for  a 
positive  certainty  are  the  king,  and  no  one  else." 
Charles  then  asked  her  her  name,  and  what  she  wanted. 
"Gentle  Dauphin,"  she  answered,  "my  name  is  Joan 
the  Maid  {La  Pucelle),  and  the  King  of  heaven  bids  me 
tell  you  that  you  shall  be  anointed  and  crowned  at 
Reims,  and  that  you  shall  be  lieutenant  for  the  King 
of  heaven,  who  is  King  of  France."       She  then  whis- 


264  yOAN   OF   ARC. 

pered  to  him  a  few  words,  at  which  Charles  was  very 
much  astonished,  and  very  joyous  ;  then,  raising  her 
voice,  she  added  :  "  I  tell  you,  in  God's  name,  that  you 
are  the  true  heir  of  France,  and  son  of  the  king." 

Charles  VII.  was  not  yet  completely  satisfied,  and 
he  resolved  to  bring  Joan  of  Arc  before  a  committee 
of  clergymen  and  theologians,  who  should  put  to  her 
a  variety  of  questions  in  order  to  test  the  validity  of 
her  mission,  and  to  make  quite  sure  of  her  orthodo.xy. 
This  tedious  and  puerile  examination  lasted  some 
time,  and  having  proved  satisfactory,  the  next  thing 
was  to  equip  the  "  maiden  "  for  her  venturesome  ex- 
pedition. La  Hire  and  Xaintrailles,  two  of  the  most 
distinguished  generals  on  the  royalist  side,  were  to 
accompany  her  to  Orleans  at  the  head  of  a  convoy  of 
provisions  and  ammunition.  She  wanted  a  weapon, 
and  her  voices  revealed  to  her  that  in  the  church  of 
Saint  Catherine  of  Fierbois  there  was  behind  the  altar 
a  sword  of  which  the  hilt  was  marked  with  five  crosses. 
The  indication  proved  perfectly  correct,  and  from  that 
day  Joan  of  Arc  never  parted  with  that  sword, 
although  she  did  not  use  it,  not  willing,  she  said,  to 
kill  any  person.  She  further  procured  a  white  stan- 
dard adorned  with  go\d  fleurs-de-/ys  ;  on  one  side  was 
the  representation  of  the  Almighty  in  a  cloud,  at  His 
feet  two  angels,  with  the  inscriptions— //j'//j',  Marie  ; 
the  other  side  gave  the  escutcheon  of  France  supported 
by  two  angels.  Another  standard,  of  smaller  size, 
which  she  caused  to  be  made  at  the  same  time,  repre- 
sented an  angel  offering  a  lily  to  the  blessed  Virgin. 

Joan  of  Arc's  small  army  was  a  perfect  contrast  to 
the  lawless,  brutal,  and  fierce  ccorcJieurs  and  routiers 


yOAN   OF   ARC. 


265 


which  at  that  time  devastated  not  only  France,  but  the 
whole  of  Europe.  It  was  preceded  by  a  group  of 
priests  singing  hymns  ;  the  main  body  consisted  of 
adventurers  and  ribands  whom  La  Puciiles  influence 
had    quite   transformed.     No  swearing  was  allowed, 


MEDAL   OF  JOAN    OF    ARC. 


and  this  for  La  Hire  had  all  the  character  of  a  down- 
right privation.  Pitying  his  distress  she  allowed  him 
to  swear  "  by  his  staff"  i^par  son  baton). 

The  expedition  arrived  under  the  walls  of  Orleans  on 


266  BATTLE   OF  PAT  AY. 

the  29th  of  April,  1429.  Dunois  came  to  meet  Joan, 
and  introduced  her  into  the  town,  with  her  convoy 
and  her  men-at-arms.  The  inhabitants  received  her 
with  great  demonstrations  of  enthusiasm. 

The  siege  of  Orleans  had  lasted  seven  months 
already  ;  in  ten  days  Joan  of  Arc  raised  it.  One  of 
the  English  bastiles  was  named  Rouen,  another  Paris, 
and  a  third,  London.  How  humiliating  for  the 
besiegers  to  have  to  abandon  positions  bearing  such 
proud  designations !  But  it  must  needs  be  done. 
Orleans  once  delivered,  Joan  of  Arc  went  to  join  the 
king  at  Tours,  and  urged  him  to  march  at  once  with 
his  army  towards  Reims,  where  the  ceremony  of  con- 
secration was  to  take  place.  "  I  shall  not  live  much 
more  than  one  year  from  hence  ;  we  must  think  of 
toiling  hard,  for  there  is  much  to  be  done."  A  start 
was  made,  and  of  the  most  brilliant  kind;  Jargeau, 
Meung-sur- Loire,  and  Beaugency  were  taken  from  the 
English.  On  the  i8th  of  June  a  decisive  victory  was 
won  at  Patay,  between  Orleans  and  Chateaudun,  in 
which  Talbot  and  several  English  captains  of  distinc- 
tion were  taken  prisoners.  No  serious  obstacle  now 
stood  in  the  way  of  Charles  VII.  After  a  two  days' 
siege  Troyes  was  carried  ;  a  few  days  later  the  Bishop 
of  Chalons  brought  to  the  king  the  keys  of  that  city. 
P'inally,  on  the  i6th  of  July,  1429,  Charles  entered 
Reims,  having  by  his  side  Joan  of  Arc,  who  carried 
her  standard  ;  the  ceremony  of  the  coronation  was 
fixed  for  the  17th,  which  happened  to  be  a  Sunday. 

The  situation  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford  had  become 
rather  difficult.  The  national  sentiment  was  thoroughly 
roused  ni  France ;  not  only  had  the  English  given  up 


CAPTURE   OF  JOAN   OF  ARC.  267 

all  hope  of  conquering  the  districts  of  the  centre,  they 
were  beginning  to  lose  their  possessions  in  the  northern 
provinces  ;  the  towns  of  Crecy,  Provins,  Coulommiers, 
and  Chateau-Thierry  had  driven  away  the  foreign 
garrisons.  Encouraged  by  this  awakening  of  patriotism, 
the  generals  of  Charles  marched  towards  Paris,  and 
attacked  the  gate  of  St.  Honore  ;  unsuccessful  there, 
they  fell  back  in  the  direction  of  Compiegne,  which 
they  took  after  a  protracted  siege.  This  was  to  be  the 
last  step  in  the  career  of  the  Maid  of  Orleans.  Shg 
had  lately  been  repeatedly  warned  by  her  voices  that 
she  was  to  be  captured  before  the  festival  of  St.  John, 
but  how  and  when  she  knew  not.  One  day,  after 
hearing  mass  and  taking  the  holy  communion,  she  said 
to  those  who  surrounded  her  :  "  My  children  and  dear 
friends,  I  warn  you  that  I  have  been  sold  and  betrayed. 
I  shall  soon  be  put  to  death  ;  I  entreat  and  beseech 
)'ou  to  pray  God  for  me." 

It  was  during  a  sally  headed  by  La  Pucelle  that  the 
fatal  event  took  place.  Either  by  mistake  or  by  treason, 
the  drawbridge  was  raised  before  she  could  re-enter 
the  town,  and  she  was  seized  by  about  twenty  soldiers. 
She  surrendered  to  a  knight  of  the  household  of  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy.  In  spite  of  an  appeal  made  by 
the  University  of  Paris,  Joan  was  given  up  to  the 
English  for  the  sum  of  10,000  livres,  and  a  judge  was 
appointed  to  try  her.  The  person  selected  for  that 
wretched  task  was  a  certain  Pierre  Cauchon,  Bishop  of 
Beauvais,  a  great  champion  of  the  English  and  of  the 
Bourguignons.  He  had  taken  an  active  part  in  the 
excesses  of  the  CabocJiians,  and  had  caused  himself 
to  be  named  judge  to  try  the  Armagnac  clergy.     For 


268  CORONATION   OF  HENRY    VI. 

this  piece  of  zeal  he  had  been  rewarded  with  a  bishopric 
by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  now  he  was  resolved 
to  curry  favour  with  the  English  by  putting  Joan  of 
Arc  to  death.  It  was,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  a 
foregone  conclusion ;  the  trial  had  taken  place  at 
Rouen,  the  sentence  that  the  unfortunate  heroine 
should  be  burnt  alive  was  carried  out  on  the  30th  of 
May,  143 1.  Twenty-four  years  later,  at  the  request  of 
Charles  VIL,  Pope  Calixtus  III.  ordered  the  trial  to 


STAIUR   OP'    lOAN    OF    ARC. 


be  revised,  and  on  the  7th  of  July,  1456,  the  rehabili- 
tation of  the  Maid  of  Orleans  was  solemnly  proclaimed. 
The  situation  of  the  English  had  not  improved  b}-  this 
tragic  event  ;  King  Henry  VI.  was  crowned  indeed 
at  Paris  (December  17,  143 1),  but  this  ceremony 
created  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction  amongst  the 
people.  Why  was  the  officiating  priest  an  English- 
man, the  Cardinal  of  Winchester,  and  not  a  French- 


CONFERENCE  AT  ARRAS. 


269 


man  ?  Why  did  not  (?ne  single  French  lord  attend  ? 
Why  did  not  the  usual  acts  of  kindness  and  ro\  al 
generosity  follow  upon  the  coronation,  such  as  libera- 
tion of  prisoners,  remission  of  taxes,  money  gratuities? 
Then  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  was  getting  weary  of  his 
foreign  alHes;  he  had  had  to  put  up  with  their  haugh- 
tiness and  their  pretensions.  Notwithstanding  the  signal 
services  he  had  rendered  them,  he  had  never  received 
from  them  the  sh'ghtest  assistance  in  his  times  of 
distress  and  of  embarrassment.  All  these  circumstances 
were  cleverly  turned  to  use  by  the  Constable  de  Riche- 
mont,  whose  talents  as  a  politician  were  fully  equal  to 
his  courage  ;  and  the  only  thing  which  prevented  Philip 
the  Good  from  breaking  off  his  alliance  with  the  Eng- 
lish was  a  kind  of  chivalrous  J^oint  d'honncur  he  felt 
bound  to  respect. 

Meanwhile  a  general  conference  took  place  at 
Arras  with  the  view  of  considering  the  terms  of  a 
truce,  or  possibly  a  permanent  peace.  All  the 
European  states  sent  representatives — the  Pope,  the 
emperor,  the  kings  of  Navarre,  Castile,  Arragon, 
Portugal,  Sicily,  Naples,  Cyprus,  Poland,  Denmark  ; 
the  large  towns,  the  University  of  Paris  had  their 
delegates.  The  King  of  France  was  represented  by 
Constable  de  Richemont  and  eighteen  lords ;  the 
King  of  England  by  the  Cardinal  of  Winchester  and 
a  large  number  of  barons  ;  the  Duke  of  Burgundy 
appeared  in  person. 

The  English  were  the  first  to  state  their  preten- 
sions They  wanted  merely  a  truce  and  the  marriage 
of  Henry  VI.  with  a  daughter  of  Charles  VII.  The 
French    ambassadors,   however,    declared     that    their 


270  RICHEMONT  ENTERS  PARIS. 

mission  was  expressly  to  conclude  a  peace,  and  they 
insisted  upon  the  King  of  England  giving  up  his 
pretended  rights  to  the  French  crown  and  to  all  the 
provinces  which  he  occupied  on  the  Continent. 
These  terms  were  contemptuously  rejected,  and  on 
the  I  St  of  September  the  English  delegates  an- 
nounced their  intention  of  leaving  the  assembly  and 
returning  to  England.  The  Pope's  envoys  took  the 
oppoitunity  of  renewing  their  entreaties  with  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  this  prince,  already  more 
than  half  disposed  to  give  way,  was  determined  by 
the  news  he  received — (i)  of  the  death  of  the  Duke 
of  Bedford  at  Chantereine,  near  Rouen  ;  (.')  of  the 
approaching  end  of  the  old  queen,  Isabelle  of 
Bavaria.  Considering  himself  as  relieved,  by  this 
twofold  event,  from  his  former  engagements,  he 
signed  the  treaty  of  Arras  (1436),  independently  of 
the  English.  The  conditions  were  both  onerous 
and  humiHating  for  Charles  VII.,  who  had,  in  the 
first  place,  to  disown  the  murder  of  John  the 
Fearless,  and  to  make  a  kind  of  amende  Jionorable  ; 
and,  in  the  next,  to  give  over  to  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy  the  countships  of  Au.xerre,  Macon,  several 
towns  on  the  Somme,  besides  400,000  gold  crowns. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  now  had  Paris,  and  that  was 
an  ample  compensation  for  the  rest.  The  citizens 
called  in  the  Constable  de  Richemont,  and  opened 
to  him  the  gates  of  Saint  Jacques  on  the  29th  of 
May,  1436.  Lord  Willoughby  and  the  fifteen  thou- 
sand English  soldiers  who  defended  Paris  shut  them- 
selves up  within  the  Bastile.  They  would  have 
been  a  rich  booty  if   it  had  only  been   possible  to 


CHARACTER   OF   CHARLES    VIT.  27 1 

reach  them,  for  the  number  of  noblemen  who  com- 
posed the  main  force  of  that  army  could  not  have  got 
off  without  paying  a  heavy  ransom  ;  but  Richemont 
could  not  undertake  the  siege  of  the  fortress  for  want 
of  ammunition,  artillery,  &c.  He  had  therefore  to 
accept  the  terms  offered  by  the  enemy,  to  wit,  that 
they  might  retire  with  all  their  goods  and  effects, 
accompanied  by  those  who  had  cast  in  their  lot  with 
them.  On  that  condition  they  gave  up  the  Bastile 
to  the  French,  le^t  Paris  by  the  gate  of  Saint 
Antoine,  embarked  on  the  Seine,  and  retired  to 
Rouen. 

The  first  part  of  the  reign  of  Charles  VII.  may  be 
said  to  end  here.  His  moral  character  had  never 
been  particularly  severe,  and  to  the  end  he  indulged 
his  passions  very  freely.  His  liaison  with  Agnes 
Sorel  is  a  case  in  point,  and  although  this  episode  has 
been  ridiculously  exaggerated,  yet  it  has  doubtless  a 
foundation  in  fact.  But  whereas,  up  to  the  year 
1436,  he  had  shown  himself  careless,  indolent,  and 
neglectful  of  his  duties,  he  now,  thanks  to  age  and 
experience  combined,  really  played  the  part  of  a 
king,  and  sought  the  advice  of  good  and  trustworthy 
councillors.  His  wife,  Marie  d'Anjou,  and  his  mother- 
in-law,  Yolande,  had  always  enjoyed  much  influence 
over  him.  Jean  Bureau,  Master  of  the  Artillery,  the 
banker  [argentier)  Jacques  Coeur,  Etienne  Chevalier, 
who  was  secretary  to  the  king,  Guillaume  Cousinot, 
Master  of  Requests,  may  be  named  amongst  the  most 
notable  of  his  advisers.  Pierre  and  Jean  de  Breze, 
Xaintrailles,  La  Hire,  Chabannes,  and  Dunois  served 
him  on   the  battle-field.     Let  us  notice  that  all  the 


272  END   OF   THE    WAR. 

persons  we  have  just  named  belonged  either  to  the 
bourgeoisie  or  to  the  petite  noblesse  ;  the  Constable, 
Count  de  Richemont,  was  the  only  real  nobleman  in  the 
king's  council,  and  he  had  been  equally  active  against 
the  monarch's  favourites  and  against  the  English. 

The  entry  of  Charles  VII.  in  Paris  took  place  with 
a  great  deal  of  pomp  and  ceremony.  The  king  only 
remained  three  weeks  there,  and  started  for  the 
southern  provinces,  where  he  had  to  encounter  the 
English  on  several  occasions.  He  wrested  from  them 
Marmande,  Dax,  Saint  Sever,  La  Reole,  Tartas,  Bla\e, 
and  received  the  homage  of  some  of  the  principal 
lords  in  Languedoc  and  Guienne.  The  previous  year 
he  had  made  a  campaign  in  the  Eastern  districts,  and 
distinguished  himself  at  the  siege  of  Pontoise. 

The  first  year's  truce  (1444-49)  had  come  to  an 
end,  and  France  was  in  a  condition  to  resume 
hostilities  with  great  chances  of  success.  The  royal 
forces  invaded  Normandy,  and  occupied  the  whole  of 
that  province  after  two  campaigns,  crowned  by  the 
battle  of  Formigny  (1450).  Dunois  then  marched 
into  Guienne,  and  made  himself  master  of  Bordeaux 
and  Bayonne  (1451).  Two  years  later  the  English, 
willing  to  retrieve  their  disasters,  made  a  fresh 
attempt  south  of  the  Garonne,  and  succeeded  at 
first ;  but  the  death  of  Talbot,  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Castillon  (1453),  was  a  fatal  blow  struck  at  the 
invaders.  Charles  VII.  entered  Bordeaux  in  triumph 
on  the  19th  of  October,  1453.  The  Hundred  Years' 
War  was  thus  finished,  and  the  English  retained  in 
France  merely  Calais  and  two  small  towns  in  the 
neighbourhood. 


THE    "  PR  AG  U  ERIE.'"  273 

The  enemies  thus  subdued,  the  time  had  come  at 
last  for  introducing  into  France  a  thorough  system  of 
reforms,  and  for  reorganizing  the  administration  of 
the  kingdom.  The  state  of  the  army  required  llie 
king's  earliest  care,  and  the  energ\'  with  which  he 
went  to  work  proved  that  he  felt  the  gravity  of  the 
situation.  His  first  attempt  was  made  nearly  twenty 
years  before  the  battle  of  Castillon,  and  it  resulted  in 
a  civil  war.  Charles  VII.  assembled  the  States- 
General  at  Orleans  in  October,  1439,  and  obtained 
from  them  a  subsidy  of  1,200,000  livres,  which  was 
to  be  raised  b\'  means  of  a  permanent  tax.  The 
object  of  this  subsidy  was  to  pay  a  regular  bod\'  of 
gendannerie,  thus  placing  the  armed  forces  of  the 
realm  under  the  king's  immediate  authority,  and 
crippling  the  power  of  the  feudal  lords.  So  bold  a 
measure  incensed,  as  may  well  be  supposed,  both  the 
aristocracy  and  also  the  ecorcheurs,  who  saw  their 
occupation  entirely  gone.  They  rose  against  the 
king,  and  selected  as  their  leader  the  Dauphin 
Louis,  who  was  destined  to  be,  when  on  the  throne, 
the  most  energetic  opj)0  icnt  of  the  system  he  now 
undertook  to  support.  This  rebellion  was  called  the 
Pragiierie,  by  allusion  to  the  revolt  of  the  Hussites  of 
Prague,  in  German)',  and  it  brought  together,  b\-  a 
singular  contrast,  both  the  ciite  of  the  nobility,  such 
as  the  Dukes  of  Bourbon  and  of  Alencon,  the  Counts 
of  Dunois  and  of  Vendome,  on  the  one  side,  and,  on 
the  other,  the  principal  leaders  of  the  routiers, 
Antoine  and  Jacques  de  Chabannes,  for  instance,  the 
bastard  of  Bourbon,  Jean  de  la  Roche,  and  Jean 
Sanglier.     Charles  VII.,  however,  had  no  difficult)'  in 


274  ''ORDONNANCE   D'ORLEANS." 

suppressing  this  insurrection.  He  had  on  his  side,  at 
once,  all  the  middle  classes,  the  bourgeoisie  and 
the  common  people.  A  few  measures  of  severity 
frightened  the  rebels,  and  when  they  saw  the  Count 
de  Saint  Pol  sewed  in  a  sack  and  thrown  into  the 
river,  they  understood  that  this  was  no  joking  matter. 
The  Dauphin  thought  better  of  the  false  step  he  had 
taken,  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  felt  the  necessity 
of  keeping  quiet.  Tw;)  expeditions,  the  one  in 
Switzerland  and  the  other  of  Lorraine,  disposed  of 
the  remainder  of  the  ecorcJieurs,  and  the  king  was  at 
last  able  to  carry  out  the  scheme  of  reform  sketched 
out  in  the  Ordonnance  d' Orleans.  In  1445  the  French 
army  was  reduced  to  fifteen  companies  of  one  hundred 
lances,  each  lance  including  the  man-at-arms,  his  page^ 
three  archers,  and  one  inferior  retainer  {coutil/ier),  all 
mounted.  They  did  garrison  duty  in  the  principal 
towns,  and  the  most  important  of  them  having 
only  twenty  or  at  the  outside  thirty  lances,  the 
citizens  were  numerically  stronger  than  the  soldiers, 
and  therefore  able  to  repress  any  disorder  which 
might  arise.  Strange  to  say,  the  old  7'oiiticrs  were 
very  anxious  to  belong  to  those  compagnies  d'ordon- 
nance,  and  vacancies  were  immediately  filled.  Charles 
VII.  had  thus  at  his  disposal  a  body  of  nine  thousand 
picked  cavalry,  and  those  routiers  who  could  find  no 
occupation  were  compelled  to  return  to  their  own 
homes,  under  threat  of  severe  punishment,  if  they 
disturbed  the  public  peace. 

Three  years  later  (1448)  another  royal  decree  pro- 
vided for  the  organization  of  the  French  infantry. 
Every  one  of  the  16,000  parishes  of  which  the  king- 


THE    "FRANCS-ARCHERS.'''  275 

dom  consisted  was  bound  to  supply  a  foot  soldier 
properly  armed  and  accoutred,  who  was  to  undergo  a 
military,  training  every  /c^U'-da.y  and  serve  the  king, 
whenever  required  to  do  so,  for  a  pay  of  four  francs  a 
month  when  on  duty,  besides  being  exempted  from 
certain  of  the  taxes.  These  fraiics-arcJicrs  could  not 
be  expected  to  be  at  the  outset  accomplished  soldiers, 
and  the  witty  poet  Villon  made  great  fun  of  them  in 
one  of  his  amusing  pieces — 

"  Va-t-il  homme,  qui  a  quatre  (  =  avec  ses  quafrc  valets) 
Py-je,  ya-t-il  quatre  qui  veuillent 

Combatre  a  moy?  si  tost  recueillent  [=quils  rcHvent  de  suite) 
Mon  gantelet  ;  vela  {=voila)  pour  gaige  ! 
Par  le  sang-bieu  1  je  ne  crains  paige, 
S'il  n'a  point  plus  de  quatorze  ans. 
J'ay  autresfoys  tenu  les  rencz, 
Dieu  mercy  !  et  gaigne  le  prix 
Contre  cinq  Angloys  que  je  pris, 

Povres  prisonniers  desnuez  (  =depoiiilUs  de  leiirs amies  et  de  leiirs  habits) 
Si  tost  que  je  les  euz  ruez  {=jet(!s par  teiTe). 
Ce  fut  au  siege  d'Alen5on." 

The  Franc-arcJier  de  Bagnolct,  who  boasts  of  having 
made  five  English  soldiers  prisoners  at  the  siege  of 
Alengon,  and  who  is  almost  frightened  to  death  by  a 
scare-scrow,  is  a  kind  of  French  Falstaff,  but  we  need 
not  take  him  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  body  to  which 
he  belonged  ;  in  a  few  years  he  will  become  as  brave 
as  Dunois  himself,  and  his  descendants  will  hold  their 
own  on  all  the  battle-fields  of  Europe, 

Financial  reforms  were  quite  as  urgent  as  military 
ones.  On  the  25th  of  December,  1453,  Charles  VII., 
acting  on  the  advice  of  Jacques  Coeur,  his  argentier,  or 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer, introducedan  order  which 


PORTRAIT   OF  JACQUES   COEUR. 


FIXAXCIAL    REFnR}fS.  277 

provided  for  the  better  manag-ement  of  the  finances 
(i)  by  submitting  to  a  mutual  control  the  various 
officers  and  boards  or  committees  entrusted  with  the 
assessment  and  collecting  of  the  taxes;  and  (2)  by  giving 
a  permanent  character  to  these  taxes,  so  far  at  least 
as  the  Langued'oil  districts  were  concerned.  Lan- 
guedoc,  Dauphine,  and  the  provinces  south  of  the 
Loire  continued  to  vote  the  taxes  in  their  provincial 
assemblies  {ctats),  hence  the  name  of  pays  d'ctats 
which  they  had  by  opposition  to  the  pays  d'cleciion 
where  the  subsidies  were  collected  by  the  agents 
{elus^  of  the  government.  This  wise  reform  raised 
the  revenues  of  the  state  to  2,300,000  livres. 

The  institution  of  a  parliament  at  Toulouse  (1443), 
and  of  another  at  Grenoble  (1453),  and  the  idea  partly 
carried  out  of  compiling  a  code  of  the  custom  laws 
{coutunies)  in  use  throughout  the  kingdom, are  due  like- 
wise to  Charles  VII.,  and  must  not  be  forgotten.  In 
the  meanwhile  the  taking  of  Constantinople  by  the 
Turks  (1453;  excited  great  emotion  throughout 
Christendom,  and  it  was  thought  that  the  Duke  of 
Burgundy  would  take  the  command  of  a  new  Crusade 
against  the  infidels.  The  days  of  faith  and  Chris- 
tian fervour,  however,  had  passed  away.  During  the 
Middle  Ages  fasting  and  penance  would  have  been 
deemed  the  only  fit  preparation  for  so  serious  an 
enterprise;  now,  instead  of  fasting,  there  was  ban- 
queting, and  instead  of  penance  there  were  jousts  and 
tournaments.  On  second  thoughts  it  appeared  that 
Mahomet  II.  threatened  only  the  German  Empire  ; 
accordingly  the  idea  of  a  Crusade  which  Philip  the 
Good  had  never  seriously  entertained,  was  given  up. 


278  DEATH   OF   CHARLES    VII. 

The  feudal  system  was  in  the  last  throes  of  a^^ony, 
but  its  turbulent  representative,  the  Duke  of  Bur- 
f^undy,  did  his  best  to  keep  it  alive  and  to  raise  up 
enemies  against  Charles  VII.  Amongst  the  nobles 
thus  encouraged  in  their  rebellious  course  were  the 
Duke  d'Alengon  and  the  Count  d'Armagnac.  They 
were  both  arrested  and  condemned,  the  former  to 
prison  for  life,  the  latter  to  exile  1456,  1455).  The 
Daupliin  Louis,  sent  by  his  father  into  the  domains 
which  belonged  to  him  by  virtue  of  his  title,  carried 
on  his  political  intrigues  with  such  energy  and  such 
impudence  that  Charles  VII.,  besides  sending  against 
him  Antoine  de  Chabannes  with  a  body  of  troops, 
marched  towards  L}'ons  with  a  second  army. 
Frightened  by  this  promptness,  Douis  fled  into  the 
estates  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  who  received  him 
with  every  possible  honour,  but  refused  him  the 
military  assistance  he  would  fain  have  obtained  against 
his  father.  Louis,  however,  succeeded  so  thoroughly 
in  frightening  Charles  VII.,  thacth^  wretched  King  of 
France,  weakened,  besides,  by  his  indulgences  and  h  5 
e.xcesses,  fancied  that  the  Dauphin  wanted  to  poison 
him,  and  he  starved  himself  to  death  (July  22,  1461). 

The  cowardly  manner  in  which  Joan  of  Arc  was 
given  up  to  the  h^.nglish,  and  the  condemnation  of 
the  avgoitkr,  Jacques  Cceur,  are  two  actions  which 
have  done  much  harm  to  the  reputation  of  Charles 
VII.  Jacques  Cteur  had  originall\-  been  a  simple 
tradesman.  Voyages  on  the  further  side  of  the  Alps 
and  in  the  Levant  had  revealed  to  him  the  secret  of 
the  prosperity  which  distinguished  the  great  commer- 
cial cities  of  Italy.    Following  their  example,  he  went 


yACQUES   CCEUR.  2yg 

to  Syria  and  to  Egypt,  brought  from  thence  all  the 
produce  of  the  East,  and  had  a  fleet  of  his  own. 
Charles  VII.,  who  had  known  him  at  Bourges,  named 
him  his  argentier  royal,  and  for  the  space  of  twelve 
years  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  all  the  most  impor- 
tant affairs  of  the  government  His  motto  was  :  ''  a 
vaillant  coeur  rien  cT impossible!'  Distinguished  above 
all  others  by  the  clearness  of  his  mind  and  his  severe 
probity,  he  always  contrived  to  face  the  financial 
difficulties  b\'  which  he  was  surrounded,  and  drew  from 
his  own  resources,  when  the  national  exchequer  was 
empty.  Thus  he  advanced  to  Charles  VII.  200,000 
crowns  (24,000,000  francs  of  the  present  coinage) 
wherewith  to  conquer  Normandy.  "  Sire,"  said  he, 
"  all  that  I  possess  belongs  to  you."  The  courtiers 
took  him  at  his  word,  brought  him  before  the  judges 
on  a  calumnious  charge  of  malversation,  divided  his 
fortune  amongst  themselves,  and  caused  him  to  be 
kept  a  prisoner  in  a  convent  at  Heaucaire.  His  late 
clerks,  however,  succeeded  in  getting  him  out  by  main 
force,  and  took  him  to  Rome  where  he  was  most 
honourably  received  by  the  Pope  (1455).  He  died  in 
the  next  year  from  a  wound  receiv^ed  at  Chios  in  a 
fight  against  tlic  Turks.  Another  financier,  Jean  de 
Xaincoings.  had  been,  during  the  previous  year,  con- 
demned quite  as  severely,  and  quite  as  unfairly.  The 
death  of  Charles  VI  I.  caused  throughout  France  a  great 
deal  of  sorrow.  Having  started  from  Meung-sur- Loire, 
the  royal  cortege  reached  Paris  on  the  5th  of  August, 
and  the  funereal  ceremony  took  place  on  the  <Sth,  at 
Saint  Denis.  As  the  corpse  was  lowered  into  the 
grave,  a  herald-at-arms,  lowering  his  mace,  exclaimed 


28o 


DEATH  OF  CHARLES    VII. 


"  God  have  in  His  holy  keeping  the  soul  of  Charles 
VII.,  the  most  victorious  king";  then,  after  a 
moment's  silence,  he  added,  "  Long  live  the  King  !  " 
and  the  crowd  shouted  out :  "  Long  live  King 
Louis  ! " 


XIV. 


LOUIS      XI. 

(I46I-I483.) 

It  seemed,  at  the  accession  of  Louis  XL,  that  the 
day  for  feudalism  had  come  at  last.  Were  not  all 
the  antecedents  of  Louis  XL  a  pledge  that  he  would 
restore  to  the  nobility  their  privileges,  their  influence, 
their  political  authority  ?  Was  he  not  the  intimate 
friend  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  than  whom  no 
prince  was  so  completely  identified  with  the  feudal 
system  ?  All  these  hopes  were  in  the  most  unex- 
pected manner  doomed  to  be  frustrated  ;  after  having 
lost  the  judicial  power  under  Philip  the  Fair  and  his 
sons,  and  the  military  prestige  during  the  Hundred 
Years'  War,  the  nobles  were  now  about  to  be  shorn  of 
their  political  greatness. 

The  houses  or  families  with  which  the  struggle 
must  be  carried  on  were  those  of  Anjou,  Brittany, 
and  Burgundy.  The  first  included,  besides  Anjou 
itself,  Provence,  Maine,  and  Lorraine,  provinces  too 
far  apart  from  each  other  to  be  able  to  undertake 
a  combined  action  against  the  king.  Further,  the 
chief  of  that  house  was  at  that  time  "good  King 
Rene,"  a  prince   more  engrossed  by  art  and  poetry 


KING   REN£. 


JEANNE   DE   LAVAL. 


284  LOUIS    XI.   AND    FEUDALISM. 

than  by  politics.  The  population,  under  the  rule  of 
the  Duke  of  Brittany  had  the  decided  advantage  of 
being  bound  together  by  a  community  of  traditions 
and  laws,  but  they  were  too  poor  to  venture  upon  a 
war  which  must  necessarily  involve  a  considerable 
expenditure,  even  supposing  the  issues  were  favourable 
to  them. 

Remained  the  formidable  house  of  Burgundy, 
formidable  in  appearance,  and  ruling  over  territories 
which  were  as  rich  as  they  were  extensive.  Bur- 
gundy, Franche  Comte,  Picardy,  Artois,  Flanders,  the 
countships  of  Auxerre  and  Macon,  Bar-sur-Seine, 
Ponthieu,  Bourbonnais,  the  towns  on  the  Somme  and 
all  the  cities  of  the  Netherlands— such  were  the 
chief  constituent  parts  of  the  duchy  then  governed 
by  Philip  the  Good. 

Besides  those  three  houses  we  must  take  into 
account  the  apanages  granted  to  the  younger  sons, 
and  which  represented  distinct  feudatory  establish- 
ments (Bourbon,  Alen^on,  Courtenai,  Armagnac,  &c.). 
There  is  no  doubt  that  if  the  numerous  provinces 
composing  the  Duchy  of  Burgundy  had  been  strongly 
knit  together,  the  task  of  bringing  them  under  sub- 
mission would  have  been  a  most  severe  one  ;  but 
the  chance  of  wars  and  of  treaties  had  made  them 
part  of  the  same  body,  not  national  affinities  ;  they 
were  not  really  united  together,  and  Flanders,  for 
instance,  was  only  awaiting  a  favourable  opportunity 
to  recover  its  independence. 

The  King  of  France,  who  had  now  to  cope  with  all 
these  forces,  has  been  so  accurately  described  and 
appreciated  by  Commincs,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  M. 


CHARACTER   OF  LOUIS  XI.  285 

Victor  Hugo,  that  rather  than  attempt  to  place  before 
our  readers  a  fresh  portrait,  we  feel  it  safer  to  quote 
from  the  pages  of  one  of  these  distinguished  writers. 

"  Brave  enough  for  several  useful  and  political 
purposes,"  says  the  author  of  "  Oucntin  Durward," 
"  Louis  had  not  a  spark  of  that  romantic  valour,  or  of 
the  pride  generally  associated  with  it,  which  fought  on 
for  the  point  of  honour,  when  the  point  of  utility  had 
been  long  gained.  Calm,  crafty,  and  profoundly 
attentive  to  his  own  interest,  he  made  every  sacrifice, 
both  of  pride  and  passion,  which  could  interfere  with 
He  was  careful  in  disguising  his  real  sentiments 
.md  purposes  from  all  who  approached  him,  and 
frequently  used  the  expressions,  '  that  the  king  knew 
not  how  to  reign  who  knew  not  how  to  dissemble  ; 
and  that,  for  himself,  if  he  thought  his  very  cap  knew 
his  secrets,  he  would  throw  it  into  the  fire.'  No  man 
of  his  own,  or  of  any  other  time,  better  understood 
how  to  avail  himself  of  the  frailties  of  others,  and 
when  to  avoid  gi\  ing  any  advantage  by  the  untimely 
inJulgences  of  his  own." 

"  He  was  by  nature  vindictive  and  cruel,  even  to  the 
extent  of  finding  pleasure  in  the  frequent  executicjiis 
which  he  commanded.  But,  as  no  touch  of  mercy  e\  er 
induced  him  to  spare,  when  he  could  with  safety  con- 
demn, so  no  sentiment  of  vengeance  ever  stimulated 
him  to  a  premature  violence.  He  seldom  sprung  on  his 
prey  till  it  was  fairly  within  his  grasp,  and  till  all  hope 
of  rescue  was  vain  ;  and  his  movements  were  so 
studiously  disguised,  that  his  success  was  generally 
what  first  announced  to  the  world  the  object  he  had 
been  manoeuvrinfr  to  attain." 


286  CORONATION   OF   LOUIS    XI. 

"  In  like  manner,  the  avarice  of  Louis  gave  way  to 
apparent  profusion,  when  it  was  necessary  to  bribe 
the  favourite  or  minister  of  a  rival  prince  for  averting 
any  impending  attack,  or  to  break  up  any  alliance 
confederated  against  him.  He  was  fond  of  license 
and  pleasure ;  but  neither  beauty  nor  the  chase, 
though  both  were  ruling  passions,  ever  withdrew  him 
from  the  most  regular  attendance  to  public  business 
and  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom.  His  knowledge  of 
mankind  was  profound,  and  he  had  sought  it  in  the 
private  walks  of  life,  in  which  he  often  personally 
mingled  ;  and,  though  naturally  proud  and  haughty, 
he  hesitated  not,  with  an  inattention  to  the  arbitrary 
divisions  of  society  which  was  then  thought  some- 
thing portentously  unnatural,  to  raise  from  the  lowest 
rank  men  whom  he  employed  on  the  most  important 
duties,  and  knew  so  well  how  to  choose  them,  that  he 
was  rarely  disappointed  in  their  qualities." 

The  whole  life  of  Louis  XI.  was  a  perfect  illus- 
tration of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  portrait  of  him  ;  the 
ceremony  of  his  coronation  which  took  place  as  usual 
at  Reims,  August  i8,  1461,  drew  together  all  the 
high  barons  who  reckoned  upon  a  speedy  restoration 
of  the  feudal  system.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
surrounded  by  his  vassals,  took  the  lead  as  premier 
peer  of  the  realm  ;  but  when  he  asked  the  king  for- 
giveness for  all  those  who  might  have  offended  him 
when  he  was  Dauphin,  Louis  granted  the  request  with 
the  exception  of  eight  persons  whose  names  he  would 
not  let  be  known. 

The  entire  administration  of  the  state  was  altered; 
the    advisers    of   Charles    VII.    were    dismissed,    and 


LEAGUE   OF   THE   COMMON    WEAL.  287 

replaced  b)-  men  sprung  from  the  lowest  classes  of 
society  ;  his  physician,  Fumee  ;  his  cook,  Pierre  des 
Habilites  ;  his  barber,  Olivier  le  Daim,  nicknamed 
Olivier  le  Diable;  and  Tristan  L'Hermite,  whom  he 
familiarly  designated  as  his  confrere,  were  the  persons 
honoured  with  his  confidence.  This  measure  created 
a  great  deal  of  irritation,  and  several  hasty  and  im- 
prudent attempts  at  reform  made  about  the  same 
time  heightened  the  general  discontent.  The  people 
had  expected  a  remission  of  taxes  on  account  of  the 
coronation  ;  instead  of  this  they  were  raised  from 
■  1,800,000  livres  to  3,000,000,  and  a  riot  having  taken 
place  at  Reims,  Louis  ordered  several  of  the  bourgeois 
to  be  hung,  and  some  to  have  their  ears  cut  off.  The 
university  of  Paris,  and  the  Parliaments  were  not 
better  treated  ;  the  power  of  the  Church  was  reduced 
and  its  privileges  curtailed. 

The  nobles,  equally  disappointed  and  irritated,  were 
seeking  an  opportunity  of  making  Louis  XL  feel 
their  power,  when  the  important  purchase  of  the 
cities  of  the  Somme  made  by  the  king  from  the  Duke 
of  Burgundy  afforded  them  the  pretext  they  required. 
The  son  of  Philip  the  Good,  the  Count  de  Charolais, 
so  celebrated  afterwards  under  the  name  of  Charles 
the  Bold,  considered  this  bargain  as  unfairly  forced 
upon  an  old  man  taken  by  surprise  ;  he,  himself,  had 
private  grievances  against  the  king,  and  was  eager  to 
try  conclusions  with  him.  Such  was  the  origin  of 
what  has  been  called  "  the  league  of  the  common 
weal "  {ligue  dii  Bien  public).  Louis  XI.,  by  way  of 
counteracting  it,  published  a  manifesto  addressed  to 
the    citizens    of  the    "  good    towns,"    and    to   all    the 


2S8  BATTLE   OF  MONTLHERV. 

kingdom  ;  this  document  was  favourably  received  in 
Dauphine,  Auvergne,  and  Languedoc,  and  in  most  of 
the  large  centres  of  population.  The  Paris  bourgeoisie, 
amongst  others,  prepared  for  a  vigorous  defence.  In 
the  meanwhile,  the  army  of  the  League  commanded 
by  the  Count  of  Charolais,  had  mustered  at  Saint 
Denis  ;  it  consisted  of  about  fourteen  hundred  men-at- 
arms,  and  eight  thousand  archers.  After  having  taken 
possession  of  some  of  the  neighbouring  villages,  the 
count  made  a  fruitless  attempt  to  enter  the  capital, 
and  finally  met  the  king's  army  at  Montlhery  (July 
i6,  1465).  The  battle  was  fought  with  much  spirit 
on  both  sides,  but  the  royal  troops  re-entered  Paris, 
and  Louis  immediately  began  negotiations  which  led 
to  the  treaties  of  Conflans  (October  5th)  with  CharL-s 
the  Bold,  and  of  Saint  Maur  (October  29th)  with  the 
confederate  princes.  By  virtue  of  these  two  agree- 
ments, the  king  made  to  his  enemies  the  most  extra- 
ordinary concessions,  firmly  resolved,  at  the  same 
time,  upon  setting  them  at  nought  on  the  very  earliest 
opportunity.  This  was  destined  to  happen  soon  ;  a 
quarrel  broke  out  between  the  Duke  of  Brittany  and 
the  Duke  of  Normandy,  and  Louis  XI.  immediately 
invaded  this  latter  province  with  the  view  of  restoring 
it  once  again  to  the  authority  of  the  Crown.  This 
was  a  distinct  violation  of  the  treaty  of  Conflans,  but 
it  was  sanctioned  by  the  States-General  summoned  at 
Tours  on  the  istof  April,  1468  ;  so  the  king,  baci-ced 
by  the  nation,  ventured  at  once  to  propose  to  the 
King  of  England  the  invasion  of  Picardy,  one  of  the 
domains  of  Charles  the  Bold.  We  say  Charles  the 
Bold,  for  Philip  the  Good  had  died  suddenly,  and  the 


iiimi ' 


/   /   / 


1     / 

f 

I 


PHILIP  THE  GOOD  AND  CHARLES  THE  BOLD, 


2gO  FRANCE   AND   BURGUNDY. 

dangerous  task  of  thwarting  the  views  and  defeating 
the  intrigues  of  the  King  of  France  now  devolved 
upon  a  rash  and  turbulent  prince,  "  who,"  to  use  the 
words  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  "rushed  on  danger,  because 
he  loved  it,  and  on  difficulties  because  he  despised 
them.  As  Louis  never  sacrificed  his  interest  to  his 
passion,  so  Charles,  on  the  other  hand,  never  sacrificed 
his  passion,  nor  even  his  humour,  to  any  other  con- 
sideration." 

Meanwhile,  what  had  been  the  result  of  the  boasted 
/io-ue  du  bien  public  ">  merely  the  enriching  of  certain 
lords  bent,  as  the  historian  Commines  says,  upon 
getting  out  of  the  monarch  all  they  could,  and 
plundering  the  kingdom.  No  wonder  that  Louis  XI. 
wanted  to  have  his  revenge,  but  Charles  the  Bold 
hearing  of  the  treacherous  proposal  made  by  him  to 
the  King  of  England,  wrote  to  him  a  most  impertinent 
letter,  full  of  threats,  and  lacking  the  simplest 
forms  of  courtesy,  especially  taking  into  consideration 
the  fact  that  it  was  addressed  by  a  vassal  to  his  liege 
lord.  What*  was  to  be  done  .-*  Count  Dammartin 
and  the  rest  of  the  officers  were  for  violent  measures. 
"  In  God's  name,"  they  said,  "  if  we  are  only  allowed 
to  have  our  own  way,  we  shall  soon  bring  that 
Duke  of  Burgundy  to  his  senses  !  The  king  makes 
a  sheep  of  himself,  and  bargains  for  his  fleece  and  his 
very  skin,  as  if  he  had  not  wherewith  to  protect  him- 
self! 'Sdeath  !  in  his  place  we  had  rather  venture 
the  whole  kingdom  than  allow  ourselves  to  be  led 
about  in  this  fashion  !  " 

Louis,  however,  as  he  was  wont,  preferred  negotiat- 
ing, and  it  was  settled  that  an  interview  should  take 


''LOUIS  XI.  AT  PERU  AWE.  29! 

place  at  Peronne,  a  town  situated  on  Burgundian 
territory.  Was  tliis  a  snare  ?  Some  persons  thought 
so,  but  the  king  would  now  allow  himself  to  be  dis- 
suaded, and  went  to  meet  the  Duke  of  Burgund)-, 
who  received  him  most  cordially,  embraced  him,  and 
led  him  to  the  castle,  where  lodgings  had  been  pre- 
pared for  his  reception.  "Now,"  says  Commines,"when 
he  came  to  Peronne,  the  king  had  forgotten  that  he 
had  some  time  before  sent  two  ambassadors  for  the 
purpose  of  exciting  the  inhabitants  of  Liege  against 
the  duke.  These  ambassadors  had  so  well  succeeded 
that  a  great  revolt  had  taken  place,  and  the  Liegese 
had  already  captured  the  city  of  Tongres." 

The  rage  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  can  easily  be 
imagined  ;  at  the  very  time  when  Louis  came  to  treat 
of  the  conditions  of  peace,  was  he  thus  plotting  against 
him,  and  sowing  the  seeds  of  rebellion  amongst  his 
own  subjects  ?  The  first  step  he  took  was  to  make 
quite  sure  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  his  rival 
to  escape.  When  Louis  XL,  thus  made  prisoner, 
began  to  consider  that  he  was  shut  ilp  in  the  same 
tower,  where  in  days  gone  by,  the  Count  of  Vermandois 
had  put  to  death  Charles  the  Simple,  he  could  not 
help  fearing  lest  the  same  destiny  was  in  reser\'e  for 
him  ;  however,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  though  excited 
by  many  of  his  advisers  to  use  the  most  violent 
measures  against  the  king,  was  satisfied  with  making 
a  new  treaty  with  him,  obliging  him  to  the  humiliating 
condition  of  helping  to  reduce  the  Liegese  into  sub- 
mission. On  these  terms  Louis  recovered  his  liberty  ; 
he  entered  Liege  wearing  the  cross  of  Saint  Andrew 
of  Burgundy  on  his  cap,  and  shouting  Vive  Bourgogiie 


292  CARDINAL   BALUE. 

as  loud  as  he  could,  to  the  great  amazement  of  the 
inhabitants.  The  whole  affair  having  come  to  an 
etid,  he  was  allowed  "  to  depart  wherever  he  wished 
to  go,  after  having  spent  the  three  most  anxious 
weeks  of  his  life." 

The  Pcronne  incident  could  not  fail  to  excite  French 
wit,  and  to  supply  food  for  that  satirical  spirit  which 
has  always  been  such  a  distinguishing  feature  amongst 
the  Parisians  ;  the  picture  shops  were  full  of  cari- 
catures referring  to  Peronne,  the  little  children  went 
about  the  streets  singing  a  couiplaiiite  about  Peronne  ; 
magpies,  jackdaws,  and  other  talking  birds  cried  out 
Peronne  !  Peronne  !  The  magistrates  had  to  interfere. 
The  children  were  whipped  ;  the  owners  of  satirical 
birds  threatened  with  condign  punishment  ;  finally,  it 
was  forbidden  under  penalty  of  being  hung,  to  sing 
or  compose  satires,  virelais,  rondeaux,  ballads,  or 
libels  casting  opprobrium  upon  our  lord  the  king. 

Scarcely  had  he  returned  to  France  than  Louis  XI. 
sought  for  a  convenient  opportunity  of  tearing  to 
shreds  the  treaty  of  Peronne,  and  resuming  hostilities  ; 
but,  in  the  first  place,  he  endeavoured  to  win  over  to 
his  side  the  chief  allies  of  Charles  the  Bold,  and 
principally  his  own  brother,  Charles,  Duke  de  Berry. 
These  negotiations,  however,  had  produced  no  result, 
when  an  unforeseen  circumstance  proved  to  Louis  that 
he  was  betrayed  by  a  person  in  whom  he  had  placed 
all  his  confidence,  namely.  Cardinal  Balue.  The 
unfortunate  prelate  had  to  appear  before  the  king, 
together  with  the  Bishop  of  Verdun,  his  accomplice ; 
obliged  to  confess  their  secret  machinations,  they  were 
shut   up   separately  in    iron    cages — the  cardinal    at 


CHARLES    THE   BOLD   INVADES   PiCARDY.      293 

Onzain,  near  Blois,  and  the  bishop  at  the  Bastile 
Saint  Antoine.  They  remained  prisoners  for  more 
than  ten  years. 

This  event  hastened  the  reconcih'ation  of  Louis  XI. 
with  his  brother  ;  the  latter  consented  to  an  agree- 
ment whicli  procured  for  him  as  an  apa)iage  Guienne, 
Agenois,  Perigord,  Quercy,  Saintonge,  and  Aunis, 
with  the  title  of  Duke  de  Guienne.  Charles  was  thus 
relegated  to  the  South  of  France,  and  withdrawn  from 
the  influence  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 

Urged  on  by  the  Count  de  Saint  Pol,  solemnly 
released  by  the  States-General  from  all  obligation  to 
keep  the  treaty  of  Peronne,  emboldened  by  the  state 
of  England,  by  the  strength  of  his  own  armies,  and 
his  desire  of  vengeance,  Louis  now  resolved  upon  re- 
newing hostilities.  In  the  first  instance,  he  summoned 
Charles  the  Bold  to  appear  before  him  at  Ghent  ; 
furious,  disconcerted,  warned  besides  by  the  Duke 
de  Bourbon,  my  Lord  of  Burgundy  assembled  an 
army  in  all  haste,  and  marched  into  Picardy  ;  Roye, 
Montdidier,  Amiens,  Saint  Ouentin,  were  taken  by 
the  French.  Vainly  did  he  write  to  P'rance  and  to 
England  for  the  purpose  of  bribing  soldiers  and 
politicians  into  his  service.  He  re-crossed  the  Seine, 
burnt  Picquigny  to  the  ground,  failed  in  his  endeavour 
to  take  Amiens,  was  obliged  to  submit,  and  ended  by 
signing  a  truce  in  April,  147 1. 

Charles  the  Bold,  following  the  example  of  his 
rival,  reckoned  upon  the  power  of  intrigues  to  make 
up  for  his  military  failures  in  the  north.  He  employed 
all  his  skill  in  detaching  from  the  crown  of  France  the 
most   influential   lords    of    the   realm,    especially   the 


294  DEATH   OF    THE   DUKE   DE   GUIENNE. 

Duke  de  Guienne.  This  prince  had  remained  faith- 
ful to  his  brother  so  long  as  he  thought  that  he  was 
heir  apparent  to  the  throne  ;  but  Louis  having  had  a 
son  by  his  second  wife,  Charlotte  of  Savoy,  these 
hopes  were  dashed  to  the  ground,  and  henceforth  the 
little  court  of  Bordeaux  became  the  rendezvous  of  all 
the  disaffected  ;  the  plan  of  a  new  league  was  even 
freely  discussed.  Louis  XI.  heard  of  it,  and  felt  that 
the  kingdom  was  in  the  most  critical  position.  The 
question  of  dismembering  tiic  monarchy  and  re- 
establishing the  feudal  system  still  pre-occupied 
Charles  the  Bold.  "  I  am  so  eager  for  the  good  of 
the  kingdom  of  France,"  said  he,  "  that  instead  of  one 
king  there,  I  should  like  to  see  half-a-dozen." 
"  English,  Bretons,  Bourguignons,"  exclaimed  others 
in  his  presence,"  are  going  to  hunt  the  king,  and  if 
he  should  undertake  anything  against  the  Duke  dc 
Guienne,  we  shall  set  such  a  pack  of  hounds  after 
him  that  he  won't  know  which  way  to  escape." 

It  is  not  surprising  that  Louis  XI.  should  have  been 
accused  of  getting  rid  of  his  brother  by  poison,  so 
timely  did  the  death  of  that  prince  occur  for  the 
king's  purposes  (May  24,  1472),  but  there  is  nothing 
whatever  to  prove  the  crime,  and  the  reputation  of  a 
somewhat  unscrupulous  politician  is,  in  this  particular 
case,  blameless.  Of  course,  Charles  the  Bold  did  not 
scruple  to  charge  the  king  with  the  crime  of  fratricide, 
and  he  sent  throughout  his  own  domains,  and  to 
several  TVench  towns,  a  manifesto,  in  which  he 
affirmed  that  the  Duke  de  Guienne's  death  had  been 
"  procured  by  poi.son,  malefices,  witchcraft,  and 
diabolical    inventions."      Very    {c\x    people    credited 


yEANNE   HACHETTE.  295 

this,  and  Charles  the  Bold  made  of  it  a  pretext  to 
invade  Ficardy,  where  he  committed  all  sorts  of 
excesses.  He  then  marched  into  Normandy,  where  he 
reckoned  upon  meeting  the  Duke  of  Brittany  ;  but  he 
was  stopped  under  the  walls  of  Beauvais  by  a  most 
unlooked-for  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants. 
Even  the  women  took  an  important  share  in  defend- 
ing the  town  ;  they  had  as  their  leader  a  young  girl, 
Jeanne  Fouquet  by  name,  and  who  subsequently 
was  called  Jeanne  HacJicttc,  by  allusion  to  the  weapon 
with  which  she  defended  herself  After  a  siege  of 
twenty-four  days,  Charles  the  Bold  gave  up  the 
attempt,  and  continued  his  march  towards  Normandy. 

Louis  XI.  was  watching  closely  all  the  movements 
of  his  enemy  ;  he  wrote  to  Dammartin  the  following 
letter  :  "  Keep  well  the  city  of  Compiegne,  it  is  a  good 
place  ;  dismantle  those  which  cannot  be  held,  in  order 
that  the  men-at-arms  may  not  lose  their  time  before 
them.  If  it  please  God  and  our  Lady,  we  shall  soon 
recover  all.  Monsieur  le  Grand  Maitrc,  I  request  }'ou 
to  bethink  yourself  of  the  means  of  striking  a  good 
blow  on  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  if  you  can  advanta- 
geously do  so.  I  hope,  on  my  side,  to  do  such  dili- 
gence, that  you  will  see  that  if  I  have  stayed  a  long 
time  here,  I  have  not  been  idle  ;  I  believe  that,  please 
God,  I  shall  soon  have  done,  and  I  mean  to  go  and 
help  you  yonder." 

In  spite  of  his  wish  to  hold  his  ground  in  Normandy, 
Charles  the  Bold  was  soon  obliged  to  return  to  Artois 
and  Picardy,  where  the  constable  had  it  all  his  own 
way.  Louis  XI.  took  this  opportunity  of  proposing  a 
general  truce,  and  negotiations  were  begun  ;  they  u  ere 


2g6        DEATH    OF   THE    DUKE   OF  BURGUNDY. 

protracted,  howev^er,  for  nearly  a  year,  and  it  was  only 
at  the  end  of  1473  that  the  rivals  canrie  to  an  under- 
standing. 

The  Duke  of  Burgundy,  thus  free  on  the  French 
side,  attempted  new  conquests  in  the  direction  of 
Switzerland.  This  fresh  enterprise  was  not  attended 
with  success  ;  defeated  at  Granson  (March  3,  1476), 
and  at  Morat  (June  22nd},  he  was  killed  in  a  battle 
under  the  walls  of  Nancy  (January  5,  1477).  Ths 
following  quotation  from  Commines  is  interesting  : 

"  By  this  every  one  may  see  into  what  a  deplorable 
condition  this  poor  duke  had  brought  himself  by  his 
contempt  of  good  counsel.  Both  armies  being  joined, 
tlie  Duke  of  Burgundy's  forces  having  been  twice 
beaten  before,  and,  by  consequence,  weak  and  di- 
s;)irited,  and  ill  provided  besides,  were  quickly  broken 
and  entirely  defeated  :  many  saved  themselves  and 
got  off  ;-the  rest  were  either  taken  or  killed,  and,  among 
them,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  himself  was  killed  on  the 
spot.  One  Monsieur  Claude,  of  Baurmont,  captain  of 
the  castle  of  Dier,  in  Lorraine,  killed  the  Duke  of 
Burgund)'.  Finding  his  arm)^  routed,  he  mounted  a 
swift  horse,  and,  endeavouring  to  swim  a  little  river  in 
order  to  make  his  escape,  his  horse  fell  with  him  and 
overset  him  :  the  duke  cried  out  for  quarter  to  this 
gentleman  who  was  pursuing  him  ;  but  he,  being  deaf, 
and  not  hearing  him,  immediately  killed  and  stripped 
him,  not  knowing  who  he  was,  and  left  him  naked  in 
the  ditch,  where  his  body  was  found  the  next  day  after 
the  battle  ;  which  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  (to  his  eternal 
honour)  buried  with  great  pomp  and  magnificence  in 
St.  George's  Church,  in  the  old  town  of  Nancy,  him- 


GATE  OF   THE   PALACE,    NAN'CY. 


298  THE   BARONIAL    HOUSES   GIVE    WAY. 

self  and  all  his  nobility,  in  great  mourning,  attending 
the  corpse  to  the  grave.  The  following  epitaph  was 
sometime  afterwards  engraved  on  his  tomb  : 

'  Carolus  hoc  busto,  Burgundse  gloria  gentis 
Conditur,  Europce  qui  fuit  ante  timor.'" 

The  death  of  Charles  the  Bold  seemed  the  breaking 
up  of  the  feudal  system  :  all  the  baronial  houses  gave 
way  in  succession,  and  ruin  struck  down  the  proud 
lords  who  had  for  so  many  years  threatened  the  crown 
of  France.  The  Duke  d'Alengon  was  amongst  the 
first.  Condemned  to  death  by  Charles  VII.  for  having 
treated  with  the  English,  he  had  obtained  that  the 
fatal  sentence  should  be  commuted  for  one  of  im- 
prisonment for  life.  Released  by  Louis  XI.,  he  had  then 
joined  in  all  the  conspiracies  against  that  monarch,  and 
rendered  himself  guilty  of  heinous  crimes  ;  the  king 
ordered  his  arrest  and  his  trial  (1473-1474)  ;  he  was 
detained  in  prison  till  his  death. 

John  v.,  Count  d'Armagnac,  deserved  capital 
punishment  far  more  than  the  Duke  d'Alencon  ;  he 
was  murdered  in  1473.  The  Duke  de  Nemours,  another 
rebel,  was  beheaded  in  1477.  The  Count  de  Saint  Pol, 
who  had  aimed  at  creating  for  himself  an  independent 
sovereignty,  and  had  deceived  in  turns  the  French,  the 
English,  and  the  Bourguignons,  endeavoured  to  deceive 
Louis  XI.  ;  this  certainly  was  a  bold  attempt  ;  he  paid 
for  it  with  his  head  on  the  Place  de  Greve,  in  Paris 
(1475).  The  king's  policy  was  to  establish  the  pre- 
eminence of  the  Crown  at  the  expense  of  the  aris- 
tocracy, and  by  dint  of  patience  he  completely 
succeeded.       He    threatened   with  a   lawsuit    the  old 


BREAKING    UP   OF    THE   FEUDAL    SYSTEM. 


299 


Duke  de  Bourbon,  and  admitted  into  his  own  family 
Pierre  de  Beaujeu,  brother  and  heir  of  that  lord,  by 
bestowing  upon  him  the  hand  of  his  daughter  Anne. 
The  house  of  Orleans  was  rendered  dependent  of  the 


CATHEDRAL    OF    REIMS. 


Crown  by  the  marriage  of  Duke  Louis  with  Joan,  the 
king's  second  daughter.  The  house  of  Anjou  sank 
into  the  same  state  of  submission,  Louis  XL  having 


300  BATTLE   OF  GUINEGATE. 

wrested  from  the  old  King  Rene  and  from  his  nephew 
Charles  a  deed  which  recognized  him,  Louis,  as  heir 
of  the  countships  of  Maine^  Anjou,  and  Provence. 
Brittany  was  kept  in  check,  and  magnificent  offers 
were  made  to  the  most  powerful  and  influential  Breton 
noblemen.  Thus  Pierre  de  Rohan  received  the  staff 
of  Marshal  of  France,  Gui  de  Laval  was  appointed  to 
the  important  post  of  governor  of  Melun,  and  Pierre 
de  Laval  obtained  the  archbishopric  of  Reims. 

Another  question  sprang  from  the  death  of  Charles 
the  Bold.  As  he  had  left  only  a  daughter,  Mary,  what 
was  to  become  of  all  the  duke's  vast  domains  ?  Suitors 
presented  themselves  from  different  sides,  and  Louis  XL 
vainly  tried  on  behalf  of  his  son,  who  was  then  only 
eigJit years  old ;  the  accepted  candidate  was  Maximilian 
of  Austria,  and  Olivier  le  Diable,  who  had  been  sent 
by  the  King  of  France,  under  the  title  of  Count  de 
Meulan,  to  enter  an  opposition,  returned  home  dis- 
comfited. The  marriage,  settled  on  the  27th  of  May, 
1477,  may  be  considered  as  the  origin  of  the  desperate 
struggle  between  France  and  Austria. 

By  one  of  those  nice  distinctions  with  which  he  was 
so  familiar,  Louis  XI.  invaded  Hainault,  and  took  pos- 
session of  Bouchain,  Cambrai,  Le  Ouesno}',  Avesncs, 
Therouanne.  Maximilian  has  assembled  an  army  ;  he 
met  the  P'rench  at  Guinegate,  a  village  near  Therou- 
anne, and  defeated  them  completely.  This  success, 
however,  was  not  of  much  avail  to  him,  for  he  had, 
with  insufficient  resources,  to  face  the  rebellion  of  the 
people  of  Ghent  and  of  Guclders.  Under  these  condi- 
tions a  treaty  with  France  could  not  be  a  difficulty  ;  it 
was  signed  at  Arras  ^December  23,  1482)  ;  Louis  XL 


DEATH   OF  LOUIS   XL  30I 

obtained  the  most  favourable  conditions,  amongst 
others  the  hand  of  Margaret,  daughter  of  Maximih'an, 
for  the  Dauphin  Charles. 

The  wil)'  king  was  not  really  old,  but  the  anxieties 
through  which  he  had  to  pass  so  frequently,  his  sus- 
picious character,  his  struggles  with  the  feudal  lords, 
had  impaired  his  health  ;  he  never  entirely  recovered 
from  an  apoplectic  stroke  which  he  had  in  148 1  ;  the 
idea  of  death  continually  beset  him,  and  inspired  him 
with  the  most  superstitious  terrors.  He  had  obtained 
from  the  King  of  Naples  for  a  holy  man,  Francois  de 
Paule,  permission  to  visit  him  at  Plessis-lez-Tours,  and 
he  used  frequently  to  kneel  before  him,  entreating  him 
to  prolong  his  life.  Sultan  Bajazet  sent  him  some 
relics  which  had  been  found  at  Constantinople  ;  he 
had  caused  the  holy  ampulla  to  be  brought  from  Reims 
with  the  view  of  having  his  whole  body  anointed  with 
the  consecrated  oil. 

All  was  useless,  and  his  physician,  Jacques  Coitier, 
made  up  his  mind  to  inform  him  of  what  he  most 
dreaded — the  approach  of  death.  "  Sire,"  said  he  to 
him  one  day,  "  I  must  discharge  a  sad  duty  ;  have  no 
longer  any  hope  either  in  the  holy  man  of  Calabria 
(Francois  de  Paule)  or  in  any  other  remedy.  It  is  cer- 
tainly all  over  with  you  ;  so,  think  of  your  conscience, 
for  no  remedy  is  available."  The  strength  of  the 
royal  patient  sank  rapidly,  and  he  breathed  his  last 
on  the  30th  of  August,  1483,  between  seven  and  eight 
in  the  evening,  repeating  his  habitual  invocation  : 
"Our  Lady  of  Embrun,  my  good  mistress,  have  mercy 
on  me  !  " 

If  we  weigh  equitably  the  actions  of  Louis  XL,  we 


302  NON-POLITICAL   REFORMS. 

cannot  help  acknowledging  that  he  was  a  great  king, 
and  that  he  did  n:iuch  good  to  France.  His  task  was 
to  destroy  a  society  which  had  served  its  time,  and 
was  now  only  a  hindrance  to  peace,  order,  and  sound 
government ;  unfortun;iteIy  the  means  he  employed 
were  so  often  contrary-  to  moralit}'  and  characterized 
by  meanness,  that  sympathy  was  on  the  side  of  the 
vanquished.  The  rigorous  measures  commanded  by 
the  best  interests  of  the  country  seemed  inspired  by 
personal  revenge,  and  he  allowed  too  much  for 
treachery  and  underhand   intrigue. 

We  must  not  forget  to  mention  a  few  important 
reforms  which  Louis  XI.  introduced,  and  which  are 
not  immediately  connected  with  politics.  The  prin- 
cipal, perhaps,  is  the  organization  of  the  postal  service. 
By  a  decree  bearing  date  June  19,  1464,  the  king 
established  on  all  the  higli  roads,  at  intervals  of  four 
leagues,  stations  where  horses  of  small  size,  properly 
harnessed  and  fitted  out,  were  kept  in  constant  readi- 
ness for  the  service  of  the  king.  The  superintendents 
or  directors  of  these  stations  were  known  as  niaitres 
tenant  les  cJievaux  couraiits  pour  le  service  du  Roi. 
They  were  placed  under  the  orders  of  a  conseiller 
grand  uiaitre  des  coiweiirs  de  France.  They  were 
directed  to  conduct  in  person,  without  delay,  all  mes- 
sengers and  other  persons  sent  by  the  king  and  pro- 
vided with  regular  passports. 

Louis  XL  created  parliaments  at  Grenoble,  Bor- 
deaux, and  Dijon  ;  he  multiplied  the  appeals  made  to 
the  king's  court  against  the  sentences  pronounced  by 
feudal  tribunals  ;  he  retained  provincial  a.ssemblies 
where  they  existed  already,  and  created  them  where 


PROGRESS    OF   FRANCE    UNDER   LOUIS   XI.     303 

they  had  not  previously  been  formed  ;  he  sanctioned 
the  free  election  of  magistrates,  and  granted  to  the 
luvirgcoisic  privileges  which  enabled  them  to  hold  their 
own  against  the  barons.  Thus,  the  command  of  the 
watch  in  the  various  towns  belonged  formerly  to  the 
aristocracy  ;  it  might  now  be  bought  by  the  citizens  or 
their  representatives. 

Commerce,  industry,  manufactures  largely  benefited 
by  the  encouragement  they  received  from  Louis  XI.  ; 
he  had  also  conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  through- 
out the  kingdom  uniformity  of  legislation,  weights  and 
measures  ;  and,  although  he  was  not  destined  to  can)- 
out  thiswise  and  useful  measure,  yet  the  mere  thought 
of  doing  so  proves  his  sagacity. 

In  conclusion,  the  reign  of  Louis  XI.  was  for  France 
an  epoch  of  decided  progress,  and  the  political  struc- 
ture of  the  Middle  Ages  was  now  gone  for  ever. 


XV. 


CHARLES   VIII.  (1483-T498) — LOUIS   XIL  (1498-1515). 


When  on  his  death-bed,  Louis  XI.  sent  for  the  lord 
of  Beaujeu,  his  son-in-law,  and  said  to  him,  "Go  to 
Amboise  and  take  care  of  the  Dauphin  ;  I  have 
entrusted  both  him  and  the  government  of  the  king- 
dom to  the  guardianship  of  yourself  and  of  my 
daughter,  your  wife.  You  know  what  recommenda- 
tions I  have  made  to  him  ;  see  that  these  recom- 
mendations are  strictly  observed  ;  bid  him  grant 
favour  and  trust  to  those  who  have  served  me  well. 
You  likewise  know  who  are  those  against  whom  he 
should  be  on  his  guard,  and  whom  you  must  not 
allow  to  approach  him." 

Charles  VIII.  was  scarcely  thirteen  years  old,  and 
as  the  decree  issued  by  Charles  V.  had  fixed  fourteen 
as  the  majority  for  the  kings  of  France,  the  adminis- 
tration was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  eldest  daughter 
of  Louis  XL,  Anne  de  Beaujeu,  aged  only  twenty- 
three.  The  Chronicler  Pn'antome  describes  her  as 
"  the  cleverest  and  ablest  lady  that  ever  was,  and  in 
every  respect  the  true  image  and  likeness  of  the  king, 
Louis  XL,  her  father."     He  himself  was  thoroughly 


"  LA    GRANDE   DAME."  305 

acquainted  with  the  character  of  her  whom  he  had 
appointed  to  carry  on  his  political  system  ;  he  used 
to  say  of  her  :  "  She  is  the  least  foolish  woman  in  the 
world  ;   for  there,  is  no  such  person  as  a  wise  one." 

Anne  de  Beaujeu  knew  full  well  that  a  reaction 
was  being  organized  against  the  old  order  of  things, 
and  following  in  her  father's  steps,  instead  of  offering 
an  open  resistance,  she  applied  herself  to  disarm  the 
malcontents  by  favours  and  promises.  The  Duke  de 
Bourbon,  her  brother-in-law,  was  named  Constable  of 
France,  and  Lieutenant-general  of  the  kingdom. 
Louis,  Duke  d'Orleans,  received  the  governorship  of 
He  de  France  and  of  Champagne.  Dunois  was 
appointed  ruler  over  Dauphine.  Three  subaltern 
officers  were  sacrificed  to  public  hatred  ;  Olivier  le 
Daim  and  Doyac  were  sent  to  the  gallows,  and  the 
physician  Jacques  Coitier  saved  his  head  by  paying 
back  fifty  thousand  crowns  which  he  had  received 
from  Louis  XI. 

Difficulties  soon  arose,  however,  springing,  in  the 
first  place,  out  of  the  summoning  of  the  States- 
General,  and,  in  the  second,  out  of  the  rivalry  between 
Anne  de  Beaujeu  and  the  Duke  d'Orleans.  This 
nobleman  hoped  that  by  convening  the  States  he 
might  find  an  opportunity  of  rising  again  into  power, 
and  the  princess-regent  was  reluctantly  obliged  to 
sanction  the  assembly.  The  States  met  at  Tours  on 
the  15th  of  January,  1484,  in  the  hall  of  the 
archiepiscopal  palace.  Never  had  France  been  so 
thoroughly  represented  ;  nearly  three  hundred 
deputies  took  part  in  the  proceedings ;  the  three 
orders  of  the   State  had   sent  their  delefjates  to  the 


306  THE   DUKE   D*ORLEANS. 

chief  place  of  each  bailliage,  and  even  the  peasants 
had  recorded  their  votes. 

After  promising  in  the  name  of  the  regent  reforms 
of  the  most  satisfactory  nature  in  every  branch  of 
the  pubHc  service,  the  Chancellor  of  France,  Guillaume 
de  Rochefort,  started  the  question  about  the  composi- 
tion of  the  council  of  State.  It  was  stated  that  it 
should  consist  (i)  of  the  princes  of  the  blood  royal, 
(2)  of  twelve  members  selected  from  the  deputies  to 
the  States-General.  The  presidency  was  given  to  the 
Duke  d'Orleans.  This  last  measure  was,  perhaps, 
unavoidable,  but  created  bickerings  and  jealousies 
which  ended  by  a  civil  war. 

The  chatty  chronicler  Brantome  is  worth  quoting 
here  :  '"  I  have  heard  say,"  he  writes,  "  that  from  tlie 
beginning  Madame  de  Beaujcu  entertained  for  the 
Duke  d'Orleans  sentiments  of  affection,  nay,  of  love  ; 
so  that  if  M.  d'Orleans  had  only  thought  fit  to  under- 
stand how  matters  went,  he  might  have  had  a  large 
share  in  the  government  of  the  kingdom,  and  I  know 
this  from  good  authority  ;  but  he  could  not  restrain 
himself,  because  he  saw  that  she  was  too  ambitious, 
and  he  wanted  her  to  yield  to  him,  as  being  the  first 
prince  of  the  royal  family,  and  not  him  to  her.  Now 
she  desired  exactly  the  opposite,  being  bent  upon 
holding  the  highest  place  and  governing  all.  So 
there  existed  between  the  two  strivings  created  by 
jealousy,  love,  and  ambition." 

Light,  fickle,  imprudent,  but  brave  withal,  the 
Duke  d'Orleans  had  to  oppose  a  princess  remarkable 
for  her  sagacity,  her  discretion,  and  her  cleverness  ; 
he  was  doomed  to  fail.     He   then   issued  a  protest 


REBELLION   AGAINST  ANNE   DE   BEAUJEV.      307 

addressed  to  the  Parliament,  the  University,  and  the 
principal  cities  'bonnes  viilcs)  of  the  realm,  com- 
plaining of  Madame  de  Beaujeu's  interference  with 
all  the  details  of  government,  and  pledging  himself 
to  restore  to  the  young  king  full  freedom  of  action. 
This  appeal  not  producing  the  desired  effect,  the 
Duke  d'Orleans  had  recourse  to  conspiracy  and 
rebellion.  He  was  joined  by  the  Duke  de  Bourbon, 
the  Counts  de  Dunois  and  D'Angouleme,  and 
especially  the  Duke  of  Brittany,  that  last  representa- 
tive of  the  great  feudal  houses,  and  the  determined 
adversary  of  Louis  XL 

On  her  side  the  princess-regent  had  not  been 
inactive.  She  signed  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  the 
Duke  of  Lorraine  (September  29,  1484',  the  lord  of 
Rieux,  and  three  other  powerful  vassals  of  the  Duke 
of  Brittany  (October  22nd  ,  and  the  three  great  cities 
of  Flanders,  namely,  Ghent,  Bruges,  and  Ypres 
(October  25th).  She  then  sent  a  body  of  men-at-arms 
to  arrest  the  Duke  d'Orleans  in  Paris  ;  but  warned  in 
time,  he  fled  to  the  domains  of  one  of  his  supporters, 
the  Duke  d'Alengon,  and  from  thence  openly  called 
to  arms  all  the  barons  of  France.  On  the  13th  of 
December,  1486,  he  concluded  a  secret  alliance  with 
the  Emperor  Maximilian,  the  King  of  Navarre,  the 
Dukes  of  Bourbon  and  of  Brittany,  the  Counts  of 
Narbonne,  Nevers,  Commines,  Dunois,  Angouleme, 
Albret,  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  &c.  Th?  pretext  was — 
enforcing  obedience  to  the  resolutions  passed  by  the 
States-General,  and  putting  an  en  J  to  the  ambition 
and  coveteousness  of  the  king's  present  advisers.  On 
the  advice  of  Commines  and  of  Georges  d'Amboise 


o8        BATTLE   OF   SAINT  AUBIN  DU   CORMIER. 


the  confederates  had  entertained  the  bold  thought 
of  seizing  upon  the  king  himself;  but  Madame  de 
Beaujeu — /a  grandc  daiue,  as  she  was  familiarly  and 
justly  designated — anticipated  them.  In  the  first 
place,  she  despatched  a  body  of  troops  towards  the 
south  of  France  ;  they  went  as  far  as  Bordeaux,  and 
reduced  into  submission  the  Count  d'Angouleme,  the 
Sire  d'Albret,  and  other  powerful  supporters  of  the 
Duke  d'Orleans.  Anjou  and  Maine  were  invaded, 
whilst  La  Tremoille  penetrated  into  Brittany  and 
destroyed  the  castles  of  Ancenis  and  Chateaubriant. 
The  two  armies  met  at  Saint  Aubin  du  Cormier 
(July  27,  1488J,  and  the  ultimate  result  was  the 
complete  routing  of  the  rebels.  The  Duke  d'Orleans 
fought  with  the  utmost  bravery,  but  he  was  taken 
prisoner,  and  shut  up  first  at  Lusignan,  and  next 
in  the  fortress  of  Bourges. 

Brittany  was  really  the  centre  and  focus  of  the 
insurrection.  The  duke,  justly  fearing  the  con- 
sequences of  his  ill-advised  resistance,  sent  in  his 
submission  to  the  king,  pledging  himself  no  longer 
to  abet  the  designs  of  his  enemies,  abandoning 
certain  cities  as  a  guarantee  of  his  sincerity,  and 
promising  not  to  give  away  any  of  his  daughters  in 
marriage  except  with  the  full  consent  of  the  King  of 
France.  Shortly  after  he  died,  and  the  Duchy  of 
Brittany  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  princess  Anne, 
a  child  twelve  years  old.  It  will  be  easily  imagined 
that  a  person  thus  circumstanced  had  plenty  of 
suitors  :  the  most  to  be  dreaded  was  the  Emperor 
Maximilian,  very  powerful  already,  and  for  whom 
the  possession  of  the  Duch}-  of  l^rittany  would  have 


CHARLES    VIII.  309 

been  a  source  of  influence  highly  prejudicial  to 
France.  It  was  asserted  that  he  had  gone  so  far 
as  to  form  a  matrimonial  alliance  with  Anne  by 
procuration,  but  this  was  no  unsurmountable  obstacle, 
and,  at  any  rate,  it  must  be  set  aside  at  any  cost. 

If  we  may  trust  contemporary  historians,  Charles 
VIII,  was  not  of  a  very  prepossessing  appearance  ; 
small  in  stature  and  badly  proportioned,  he  had 
a  large  head,  a  big  nose,  prominent  lips  always  half- 
open  ;  his  utterance  was  full  of  hesitation,  and  a 
nervous  irritation  disfigured  him.  Deficient  both  in 
body  and  mind,  his  skill  was  concentrated  upon 
athletic  exercises,  in  which  he  displayed  great 
proficiency.  Well  read,  besides,  in  the  old  romances, 
he  longed  for  an  opportunity  of  imitating  the  high 
deeds  of  Charlemagne  and  of  the  mediaeval  paladins, 
and  was  constantly  dreaming  of  expeditions  to 
distant  countries,  possibly  of  a  fresh  Crusade. 

Such,  in  a  few  words,  is  the  portrait  of  Charles 
VIII.  Anne  of  Brittany  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  much  more  attractive  ;  but  she  had  mental 
qualities  which  made  up  for  her  physical  drawbacks. 
She  was  clever,  shrewd,  and  her  intellect  had  been  so 
cultivated  that  she  understood  Latin,  and  even  some- 
what of  Greek.  At  any  rate,  the  young  King  of 
France  gained  his  point,  and  accomplished  what  the 
policy  of  Louis  XI.  most  desired  The  marriage 
contract  was  secretly  signed  in  the  Chapel  of  our 
Lady  at  Rennes  on  the  19th  of  November,  1491,  and 
on  the  1 6th  of  December  following,  the  union  was 
publicly  and  solemnly  celebrated  at  Langeais.  Charles 
was  then  one  and  twenty,  and  the  bride  nearly  fifteen 


3TO  SITUATION   OF  ITALY. 

years  old.  The  new  married  couple  made  their  official 
entry  in  Paris  on  the  6th  of  February  amongst  a 
large  concourse  of  people  gathered  together  from  all 
sides  to  greet  them.  This  was  the  last  political  act 
of  Madame  de  Beaujeu.  Her  career  as  regent,  so 
prosperously  and  wisely  conducted,  had  come  to  an 
end.     She  retired  into  private  life,  and  died  in  1522. 

By  uniting  to  the  Crown  the  domains  of  the  house 
of  Anjou  the  kings  of  France  had  obtained  preten- 
tions upon  the  kingdom  of  Naples  ;  but  was  it  pru- 
dent to  put  forth  these  pretensions?  Louis  XI.  did 
not  think  so,  and  had  never  availed  himself  of  his 
undoubted  rights.  Madame  de  Beaujeu  was  of  the 
same  opinion,  and  in  her  wisdom  she  had  seen  that  if 
the  extension  of  France,  and  the  strengthening  of  its 
frontiers  were  needed,  it  should  be  in  the  direction  of 
Flanders  in  the  north,  not  towards  the  Alps.  Against 
this  opinion,  maintained  unanimously  by  Count  de 
Crevecoeur  and  the  old  advisers  of  the  Crown, 
Charles  VIII.  opposed  his  own  strong  yearning  after 
chivalrous  adventures,  backed  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
younger  members  of  the  aristocracy,  whose  energy, 
cramped  at  home  for  more  than  thirty  years,  wanted 
to  spend  itself  on  foreign  battlefields. 

The  situation  of  Italy  at  that  time  was  critical  ; 
monarchy,  theocracy,  principalities,  republics,  every 
form  of  government  was  represented  in  the  peninsula, 
and  deep-seated  corruption  existed  under  the  polish 
of  art  and  literature.  Alexander  VI.  in  Rome,  Fer- 
dinand at  Naples,  Pietro  di  Medici  at  P^lorcnce,  Lo- 
dovico  Sfor/.a  at  Milan,  were  instances  of  what  can  be 
done  in  the  sphere  of  politics  when  vice  is  the  moving 


CHARLES    VIII.   INVADES   ITALY.  3II 

principle.  Treachery  had  taken  the  place  of  courage, 
and  men,  who  would  have  not  dared  to  fight  openly 
and  to  meet  their  enemies  in  a  fair  contest,  had  re- 
course to  daggers  and  to  poison.  Instead  of  national 
armies  were  the  condottieri,  hired  soldiers  raised  from 
the  scum  of  Europe,  Italian  diplomacy,  says  a 
modern  historian,  was  a  school  of  crimes. 

The  temptation  to  invade  Italy  was  all  the  stronger 
for  Charles  VIII,  because  he  was  invited  over  by 
some  of  the  Italians  themselves,  Lodovico  Sforza,  the 
Duke  of  Savoy,  the  Neapolitan  nobles,  Savonarola, 
and  the  cardinals,  enemies  of  the  Pope  Alexander  VI, 
However,  before  starting  for  this  expedition  certain 
preliminaries  had  to  be  gone  through  which  implied 
considerable  outlay  of  money,  and  negotiations  with 
powerful  and  ambitious  neighbours.  An  English 
army  had  landed  at  Calais,  the  Emperor  Maximilian 
was  invading  Artois,  Ferdinand  the  Catholic,  King  of 
Spain  was  preparing  to  cross  the  Pyrenees.  Bent 
upon  his  expedition  to  Italy,  Charles  VIII.  had  to 
purchase  the  neutrality  of  all  these  potentates.  The 
English  left  France  (treaty  of  Etaples,  November  3 
1492),  on  the  promise  of  745.000  gold  crowns 
(40,000,000  francs),  payable  in  fifteen  years  ;  Ferdi- 
nand the  Catholic  received  back  the  provinces  of 
Cerdagne  and  Rousillon  (treaty  of  Narbonne,  January 
19,  1493)  ;  the  Emperor  Maximilian  recovered  Ar- 
tois, Franche  Comte,  and  Charolais  (treaty  of  Senlis, 
May  23,  1493),  which  it  had  cost  so  much  to 
Louis  XI.  to  conquer.  Having  thus  satisfied  his 
ambitious  neighbours,  the  King  of  France  at  last 
started    in   August,    1494,   at  the  head  of  an   army 


312  BATTLE   OF  FORNOVA. 

which  Commines  describes  as  most  brilliant,  but 
"  little  accustomed  to  discipline  and  obedience."  It 
consisted  of  three  thousand  six  hundred  lance.-,  six 
thousand  Breton  archers,  an  equal  number  of  cross- 
bow men,  eight  hundred  Gascons,  eight  thousand 
Swiss  pikemen,  and  a  good  proportion  of  volunteers. 
The  artillery  struck  the  Italians  with  terror  ;  forty 
siege  and  field  pieces,  and  about  one  thousand  smaller 
ones,  served  by  twelve  thousand  men,  and  drawn  by 
eight  thousand  horses.  They  had  never  seen  such  an 
array,  and  they  themselves  knew  absolutely  nothing 
of  the  working  and  managing  of  artillery. 

The  march  of  Charles  VIII.  through  the  Italian 
peninsula  was  like  a  triumphal  progress  ;  but  his 
enemies  had  lost  no  time  in  the  meanwhile,  and 
when  he  believed  himself  firmly  established  in  Naples, 
he  received  from  Philippe  de  Commines  the  fatal 
news  :  (i)  that  of  Lodovico  Sforza's  treachery  ;  (2) 
of  an  alliance  against  him  made  by  tjie  Pope,  the 
Emperor,  the  King  of  Spain,  the  Venetians,  and  the 
Duke  of  Milan.  There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to 
return  to  France  ;  leaving  his  cousin,  Gilbert  de  Bour- 
bon, Count  de  Montpensier,  with  a  force  of  between 
eight  and  ten  thousand  men,  to  defend  the  kingdom 
of  Naples,  Charles  VIII.  began  his  retreat,  and  met 
with  no  obstacle  till  he  arrived  in  the  duchy  of 
Parma  ;  there  he  found  the  formidable  army  of  the 
Italian  league,  thirty  thousand  men  strong,  at  least, 
drawn  up  in  battle  array,  near  the  village  of  I-^ornovo 
(July  5,  1495).  The  French  fought  their  way  through 
with  complete  success,  although  they  were  reduced  to  a 
force  of  ten  thousand  men,  exhausted  by  a  long  march. 


314  DEATH    OF   CHARLES    VIII. 

On  his  return  to  France,  Charles  VIII.  soon  heard 
that  the  Count  de  Montpensier  had  been  driven  out 
of  Naples,  and  a  short  time  after,  D'Aubigny  came 
back  with  the  remains  of  the  army  of  occupation  ; 
Gilbert  de  Bourbon  had  died  of  the  plague  at  Atella. 
The  young  king,  forgetting  the  vicissitudes  of  his 
Italian  campaign,  now  resolved  upon  accomplishing 
in  the  finances,  the  government  of  the  State,  and  the 
administration  of  justice,  reforms  which  were  very 
much  required,  and  the  necessity  of  which  he  felt 
more  than  any  one  else.  He  was  at  Amboise,  super- 
intending some  improvements  carried  on  in  the  castle 
by  workmen  whom  he  had  brought  with  him  from 
Italy,  when  passing  under  a  dark  gallery  he  struck 
his  head  against  a  door  so  violently  that  he  died  a 
few  hours  afterwards  (April  7,  1498).  "  A  prince," 
says  Commines,  "  of  indifferent  ability,  but  so  good 
that  it  was  impossible  to  find  a  better  creature." 
Louis  XII.,  the  new  king,  was  the  grand-nephew  of 
Charles  V.,  and  he  had  been  obliged  against  his  will 
to  marry  Jeanne  de  France,  daughter  of  Louis  XL 
His  great  ambition  was  to  take  as  his  wife,  Anne, 
the  rich  heiress  of  the  Duke  of  Brittany,  and  with 
this  view  he  petitioned  the  Pope  for  a  divorce,  on  the 
ground  that  his  marriage  with  the  Princess  Jeanne 
had  been  forced  upon  him.  "  Right,"  to  quote  the 
words  of  a  modern  historian,  "  had  to  yield  to  reasons 
of  State,  and  as  Alexander  VI.,  the  reigning  Pontiff, 
desired  to  advance  the  fortunes  of  Caesar,  his  favourite 
son,  he  readily  granted  the  required  divorce.  Cffisar, 
who  brought  the  bull  into  France,  was  rewarded  by 
being  made  Duke  of  Valcntinois,  with  a  large  pension, 


CHARACTER    OF  LOUIS   XII.  315 

a  bride  of  the  house  of  Albret,  and  ready  promises  of 
support  in  his  Italian  schemes,  where  he  aimed  at 
founding  an  independent  principahty  for  himself  in 
the  Romagna.  All  obstacles,  including  the  poor 
Queen  Jeanne,  being  thus  easily  removed,  a  splendid 
marriage  followed.  It  was  a  piece  of  scandalous  and 
cruel  trafficking,  but  it  was  useful  for  France.  Anne 
of  Brittany,  according  to  the  terms  of  the  contract 
with  Charles  VIII.,  in  which  it  was  written  that,  if 
the  king  died,  she  should  marry  his  heir,  now  once 
more  became  Queen  of  France  by  marrying  Louis 

XII.  (1499)-"^ 

The  King  of  France  had  scarcely  ascended  the 
throne  when  he  prepared  to  vindicate  the  rights  on 
the  kingdom  of  Naples,  which  his  predecessors  had 
transmitted  to  him,  besides  his  own  personal  claims 
on  the  duchy  of  Milan,  which  he  held  from  his  grand- 
mother, Valentine  Visconti.  The  ruler  of  that  pro- 
vince was  still  Lodovico  Sforza,  surnamed  "  II  Moro," 
from  the  fact  that  his  cognizance  was  a  mulberry 
tree ;  he  had  been  the  first  to  betray  the  Italian 
cause,  and  it  was  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  he 
should  remain  isolated  in  the  midst  of  his  native 
country.  Louis  XII.  sacrificed  to  the  reigning  pas- 
sion for  foreign  conquests,  but  did  not  behave  with 
the  imprudence  which  had  characterized  Charles  VIII. 
Without  possessing  superior  qualities,  he  was  cautious, 
considerate,  and  extremely  kind.  He  began  his  reign 
by  diminishing  the  taxes,  and  refusing  the  c^ou  de 
joyeux  avcnement,  amounting  to  300,000  livres,  to 
which  every  man  holding  an  office  or  privilege  from 

'  Kitchin,  "  History  of  France,"  ii.  130. 


3l6  LODOVICO   IL   MORO. 

the  Crown  had  to  contribute  at  the  beginning  of  a 
new  reign,  if  he  would  secure  his  continued  enjoy- 
ment of  that  privilege  or  office.  He  entertained  no 
grudge  against  La  Tremoille  and  the  other  faithful 
servants  of  la  grandc  dcrmc,  who  had  beaten  him  at 
Saint  Aubin  du  Cormier  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  said  to 
them,  that  the  King  of  France  had  no  business  to 
avenge  wrongs  done  to  the  Duke  d'Orleans. 

The  conquest  of  Milanese  was  speedily  accom- 
plished. Trivulzio,  an  Italian  general  who  had  joined 
the  service  of  Louis  XII.,  no  sooner  presented  him- 
self with  an  army  of  nine  thousand  cavalry  and  thir- 
teen thousand  foot  soldiers,  than  "  II  Moro  "  fled,  and 
reached  the  Tyrol.  Nothing  but  the  maladministration 
of  Trivulzio  gave  him  new  chances  ;  he  had  been 
expelled  in  October,  1499;  on  February  5,  1500,  he 
returned  at  the  head  of  a  motley  band  of  Germans 
and  Swiss,  and  surprised  Milan.  A  fresh  arm\', 
raised  by  Louis  XII.,  came  down  the  Alps,  and  met 
the  forces  of  Lodovico  at  Novara  ;  the  mercenaries  of 
the  Duke  of  Milan  refused  to  fight,  and  a  soldier  of 
the  canton  of  Uri  gave  him  up  to  the  French.  He 
v/as  sent  to  France,  and  retained  prisoner  in  the 
castle  of  Loches,  where  he  died,  after  a  captivity 
which  lasted  some  years.  The  Venetian  ambassador, 
Trevisano,  who  saw  him  soon  after,  wrote  that,  "  He 
plays  at  tennis  and  at  cards,  and  he  is  fatter  than  he 
ever  was." 

Leaving  Lombardy,  the  T^rcnch  arm)'  started  for 
Naples  (May  26,  1501);  it  numbered  five  thousand 
four  hundred  cavalr)',  seven  thousand  infantry,  and 
thirty-six  cannons.      Thanks  to  the  co-operation   of 


BATTLE    OF   GARIGLIANO.  317 

the  Pope,  Alexander  VT.,  and  of  the  King  of  Spain, 
Ferdinand  the  Catholic,  the  beginning  of  the  cam- 
paign was  attended  with  considerable  success  ;  but 
the  treacher}^  of  Ferdinand  altered  the  position  of 
affairs,  and  ruined  for  a  time  the  French  cause  in 
Italy.  "  It  is  the  second  time,"  said  Louis,  "that  the 
king  of  Spain  has  deceived  me."  "  That's  a  lie," 
impudently  answered  Ferdinand  ;   "  it  is  the  tenth." 

Louis  made  the  greatest  preparations  to  avenge 
himself  upon  Ferdinand,  and  to  prevent  the  evil  con- 
sequences which  might  arise  from  his  defection. 
Three  armies  were  sent  in  succession  ;  they  all  failed. 
Gonzalvo  of  Cordova,  who  led  the  Spanish  forces, 
stopped  the  French  on  the  banks  of  the  Garigliano  ; 
La  Tremoille  was  prevented  by  illness  from  com- 
manding, and  his  lieutenants  were,  first,  the  Marquis 
of  Mantua,  and  next,  the  Marquis  of  Saluzzo.  The 
rout  of  the  French  was  complete  ;  artiller}',  baggage, 
and  a  great  number  of  prisoners  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemies.  Bayard's  heroism  in  defending  the 
bridge  of  Garigliano  was  the  only  redeeming  act  on 
the  part  of  the  soldiers  of  Louis  XII.  The  com- 
mander of  Venosa,  too,  Louis  d'Ars  by  name,  refused 
to  capitulate,  and  fought  bravely  his  way  back  to 
France  with  the  remains  of  the  garrison. 

Under  favour  of  all  these  wars  the  Venetians  had 
contrived  to  gain  possession  of  Brescia,  Cremona,  and 
Bergamo.  Louis  XII.  resolved  to  get  these  towns  back 
again,  and  he  succeeded  in  forming  against  the  power- 
ful republic,  a  league  which  was  joined  by  the  Pope, 
the  Emperor  Maximilian,  and  even  Ferdinand  the 
Catholic  (League  of  Cambrai,  1508).    The  two  armies 


LEAGUE   AGAINST   FRAXCE.  3T9 

met  at  Agnadello  in  the  province  of  Lodi  (May  14, 
1509)  ;  the  French  were  commanded  by  Louis  XII. 
in  person,  and  by  his  two  lieutenants  Trivulzio  and 
La  Tremoille.  At  the  head  of  the  Venetians  were 
Periffliano  and  Alviano.  The  king  fought  bravely, 
and  exposed  himself  without  hesitation  to  the  attack 
of  the  enemy.  "  Let  every  one  who  is  afraid," 
exclaimed  he,  "  place  himself  behind  me  ;  a  king  of 
France  is  not  killed  by  cannon-shot."  He  did  not 
lose  many  soldiers  ;  on  the  side  of  the  Venetians  it 
was  estimated  that  between  eight  and  ten  thousand 
men  perished.  The  results  of  this  battle  were  con- 
siderable ;  in  a  kw  days  most  of  the  towns  of  L^pper 
Italy  opened  their  gates,  and  Louis  XIl  recrossed  the 
Alps,  firmly  believing  that  his  conquest  was  secure. 

After  the  league  of  Cambrai  another  league  sprang 
up  in  direct  opposition  to  it,  and  which  was  destined 
to  put  an  end  to  the  domination  of  the  French  in  Italy. 
The  papacy  was  held  at  that  time  by  Julius  II.,  a 
man  of  the  most  warlike  disposition,  who,  far  from 
shrinking  from  the  employment  of  force,  appeared  on 
the  field  of  battle  clothed  in  a  cuirass,  and  armed  as 
a  knight.  His  aim  was  to  turn  the  Barbarians  out  of 
Italy,  and  with  that  view  he  formed  a  Jioly  league 
(October  5,  151 1)  which  was  joined  by  Maximilian, 
Henry  VIII.  King  of  England,  Ferdinand  the 
Catholic,  the  Swiss  and  the  Republic  of  Venice.  The 
Spanish  general  Ramon  de  Cardona  brought  to  the 
assistance  of  the  pontifical  troops  twelve  thousand 
men  ;  ten  thousand  Swiss  commanded  by  the  Car- 
dinal of  Sion,  Matthew  Schinner,  descended  from  the 
Alps,  and  Louis  XII.  saw  the  frontiers  of  his  kingdom 


320  BATTLE    OF   RAVENNA. 

threatened  on  all  sides.  In  this  crisis  his  nephew^ 
Gaston  de  Foix,  Duke  de  Nemours,  a  young  general 
only  twenty-two  years  of  age,  took  the  command  of 
the  French  forces  in  Italy,  and  for  a  short  time  main- 
tained in  the  peninsula  the  prestige  o^  \h.&  flenr-de-lys. 
A  furious  battle  took  place  under  the  walls  of  Ravenna 
on  the  nth  of  April,  1512.  "Since  God  created 
heaven  and  earth,"  says  a  chronicler,  "never  was 
seen  a  more  cruel  and  harder  fight  than  the  one 
which  French  and  Spaniards  engaged  against  each 
other  ;  they  rested  for  a  moment  just  to  recover 
breath,  and  then  would  begin  again,  shouting /^n?//r^  / 
and  Spain  !  at  the  top  of  their  voice.  The  Spaniards, 
at  last,  were  completely  routed  and  obliged  to  abandon 
their  camp,  where,  between  two  ditches,  three  or  four 
hundred  men-at-arms  were  killed."  The  battle  was 
won  when  Gaston  de  Foix,  carried  away  by  his  ar- 
dour, rushed  in  pursuit  of  a  troop  of  Spaniards  in 
full  retreat;  he  had  only  twenty  or  thirty  men  about 
him;  he  was  immediately  surrounded,  and  after 
defending  himself,  "as  Roland  did  at  Roncevaux," 
he  fell  pierced  with  spear  thrusts. 

This  fatal  catastrophe  rendered  ineffectual  the 
victory  of  Ravenna.  France  was  threatened,  and  in 
spite  of  a  few  successes  both  on  land  and  on  sea,  Louis 
XII.  was  reduced  to  negotiate.  The  Swiss  were 
pacified  with  400,000  gold  crowns.  Maximilian  had 
penetrated  by  the  northern  frontier  together  with  the 
English ;  he  met  near  Guincgate  the  French  com- 
manded by  the  Duke  de  Longueville,  and  who  were 
unaccountably  panic-stricken.  Bayard,  Longueville, 
and    other   captains    were    taken    prisoners,  and    the 


322  DEATH   OF  LOUIS   XII. 

derisive  name  of  "  Battle  of  the  Spurs"  commemorated 
an  engagement  where  no  fighting  had  really   taken 
place.       Maximilian    made    his    peace    with    France 
(March,  15  14),  and  Louis  XII.  pledged  himself  to  the 
Pope  (Leo  X.),  never  to  put  forth  again  any  claim  to 
the  duchy  of  Milan.     The  English  fleet,  though  far 
superior  in  number  to  the  French,  had  been  defeated 
by  Herve  Primoguet  off  the  British  coast,  and  yet  it 
became  necessary  for  the  King  of  France  to  come  to 
terms  with  Henry  VIII.  also.     A  separate  treaty  was 
concluded    in    London,  which   secured  to  Henry   the 
possession    of  Tournay    and    a    yearly    pension    of 
100,000  crowns   for   the   space  of  ten   years.      Louis 
XII.,  whom   the  death   of  Anne  of  Brittany  had  left 
a  widower,   married  the  Princess    Mary  of  England, 
scarcely    sixteen    years    old.       "For   many   reasons," 
says  Le  Loyal  Scrviteitr,  "  the  King  of  France  did  not 
need   to   be    married    again,    nor   did  he  feel   much 
inclined  to  do  so  ;  but  seeing  himself  at  war  on   all 
sides,  and  knowing  that  he  could  not  carry  on  these 
wars  without  greatly   over-taxing  his  people,  he  re- 
sembled the  pelican.     After  Queen    Mary  had   made 
her  entry  into  Paris,  entry  which  was  very  triumphant, 
and  followed  b\'  sundry  jousts  and  tournaments  which 
lasted  more   than   six  weeks,  the  king,  for  his  wife's 
sake,  altered  all  his  way  of  living.     Whereas  he  used 
to  dine  at  eight  o'clock,  he  now  must  needs  dine  at 
noon  ;  whereas  he  was  wont  to  go  to  bed  at  six,  he 
now   sat  up  till  midniiht."       This    new  regime   told 
upon  the  constitution  of  a  prince  who,  since  his  great 
illness  in  i  504,  had  never  quite  recovered.     He  died 
on  the    1st  of  January,  15 15,  sincerely  regretted  by 
the  nation. 


ADMIXISTRATION.  32^ 

The  administration  of  Louis  XII.,  by  its  wise 
character  and  its  excellent  results,  stands  in  strong 
and  pleasing  contrast  with  his  foreign  policy.  He 
made  up  his  mind  to  live  and  maintain  his  household 
within  the  limits  of  the  income  derived  from  his  own 
domains,  and  by  so  doing  he  was  enabled  to  reduce 
the  taxes  by  nearly  one-third.  Gratuities,  pensions, 
ruinous  festivals  were  suppressed,  and  the  strictest 
economy  was  established  consistent  with  due  regard 
to  the  exigencies  of  the  public  service.  "  My 
courtiers,"  he  remarked  one  day,  "  may  laugh  at  m}- 
avarice  ;  I  had  far  rather  they  should  do  so  than  that 
the  people  should  weep  for  my  extravagance."  A  tax 
had  been  raised  to  supply  the  cost  for  an  expedition 
against  Genoa  ;  this  war  having  been  finished  more 
quickly  and  more  cheaply  than  was  anticipated, 
Louis  XII.  remitted  the  surplus  of  the  subsidy,  re- 
marking :  "  That  mone)-  will  bear  more  fruit  in  their 
hands  than  in  mine."  The  soldiers  and  adventurers 
dare  not  plunder,  and  the  peasants  were  protected 
against  the  unruliness  of  marauders  and  highwaymen. 
No  mercy  was  shown  to  those  who  sought  to  put 
under  contribution  villages  and  homesteads  ;  those 
who  were  caught  paid  the  penalty  of  their  misdeeds 
by  being  sent  to  the  gallows.  Every  encouragement 
was  given  to  commerce,  agriculture,  and  industry- ; 
and  we  have  the  evidence  of  contemporary  writers  to 
show  that  "  in  twelve  years'  time  the  third  part  of  the 
kingdom  was  cultivated,  and  that  for  every  large  mer- 
chant or  trader  who  could  formerly  be  found  in  Paris, 
Lyons,  or  Rouen,  there  were  fifty  during  the  reign  of 
Louis    XII.       People    thought    much    less    then    of 


324  "  '^'HE   FATHER   OF   THE   PEOPLE. 

travelling  to  London,  Rome,  or  Naples,  than  they  did 
in  days  past  of  going  to  Lyons  or  to  Geneva."  In- 
comes of  every  kind  rose  to  a  wonderful  amount, 
and  the  collecting  of  the  taxes  and  other  sources  of 
the  national  revenues  was  accomplished  much  more 
cheaply  and  easily  than  it  had  ever  been  before. 
The  States-General  were  convened  once  only  during 
the  reign,  namely,  in  1506,  and  the  deputies  of  the 
bourgeoisie  alone  met  for  deliberation.  One  of  their 
acts  was  to  bestow  upon  the  king,  through  the 
medium  of  their  delegate,  the  glorious  title  of  Father 
of  the  People. 

With  the  reign  of  Louis  XII.  must  always  be 
associated  the  active,  intelligent,  and  beneficent  ad- 
ministration of  Georges,  Cardinal  d'Amboise,  who,  for 
the  space  of  twenty-seven  years  was  less  the  king's 
confidential  minister  than  his  friend.  Belonging  lo  a 
powerful  family,  born  in  1460,  D'Amboise  obtained 
the  see  of  Montauban  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen  ; 
he  attached  himself  to  the  fortunes  of  the  Duke 
d'Orleans,  remained  his  faithful  adviser  so  long  as 
Charles  VIII.  was  on  the  throne,  and  received  after- 
wards the  promotion  which  he  had  so  richly  deserved 
by  his  attachment  and  his  devotedness.  Appointed 
successively  to  the  archbishopric  of  Narbonne  and 
(1493)  to  that  of  Rouen,  he  was  virtually  the  governor 
of  the  province  of  Normandy,  and  inaugurated  there 
the  reforms  which,  after  the  death  of  Charles  VIII, 
he  carried  out  in  the  whole  kingdom.  He  really 
loved  the  people,  and  in  return  he  shared  the  re- 
spectful affection  which  the  people  entertained  for 
their  sovereign.      He   played   under    Louis   XII.   the 


GEORGES   CARDINAL    d'AMBOISE.  325 

part  which  Suiter  did  under  Louis  VII.,  and  Sull\-, 
Richelieu,  and  Colbert  enjoyed  subsequently  under 
Henry  IV.,  Louis  XIII.,  and  Louis  XIV.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  critics  might  find,  and  have  justly 
found,  many  serious  faults  in  Georges  d'Amboise's 
administration  ;  but,  on  the  whole,  it  deserves  to  be 
remembered  in  history  as  excellent,  and  it  became  a 
proverbial  expression  to  say  :  "  Let  Georges  do  what 
he  pleases  {Laisses  /aire  a  Georgesy  Nor  must  we 
forget  that  he  was  an  intelligent  patron  of  the  fine 
arts ;  under  his  direction  Roger  Ango  began  the 
palais  de  justice  of  Rouen,  and  he  built  the  chateau 
of  Gaillon,  which  is  a  splendid  monument  of 
Renaissance  architecture. 

The  creation  of  two  new  parliaments  'Provence, 
1 501  ;  Normandy,  1499),  the  reforms  introduced  into 
the  administration  of  justice,  the  extension  of  the 
postal  service,  the  compiling  of  the  laws  into  one 
statute  book  pursued  and  carried  on,  and  various 
other  wise  measures  concurred  to  make  of  Louis  XII. 
one  of  the  most  beloved  and  popular  of  French  kings, 
and  it  is  no  mere  formal  phrase  which  Le  Loyal 
Serviteur  used  when  he  said  that  he  was  bturied  at 
Saint  Denis  in  the  midst  of  the  "  deep  cries  and 
wailings  and  the  profound  regard  of  all  his  subjects." 


XVI. 


INTELLECTUAL  LIFE  OF  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY 
—LITERATURE,  THE  DRAMA,  TRADE,  INDUSTRY 
— CONCLUDING   REMARKS. 

The  intellectual  life  of  the  fifteenth  century  in 
France  could  not  but  be  very  poor  in  the  midst  of  the 
terrible  calamities  which  visited  the  country  ;  the 
Esprit  Gaiilois  which  runs  so  brilliantly  and  so  amus- 
ingly through  the  old  fabliaux,  and  the  "  Roman  de 
Renart  "  seems  to  have  quite  disappeared,  and  the  suc- 
cessors of  the  Trotiveres  remain  silent.  We  have 
already  named  Eustache  Deschamps  and  Olivier 
Bassilen  amongst  the  French  poets  of  the  fifteenth 
century ;  we  have  given  a  word  of  praise  to  the 
vigorous  and  patriotic  compositions  of  Alain  Chartier 
and  Christine  de  Pisan  ;  when  we  have  added  to  our 
list  Froissart,  Charles  d'Orleans,  and  Villon,  we  shall 
have  exhausted  the  cycle  of  poets.  Froissart  is  best 
known  as  the  mediaeval  chronicler  par  excellence,  but 
he  began  his  literary  career  by  writing  sickly  and 
sentimental  ballads  after  the  style  of  the  "  Roman  de 
la  Rose  ;  "  the  "  Joli  buisson  de  Jonece  "  is  one  of  his 
best  pieces.  It  is  sad  to  have  to  acknowledge  that 
in  all  these  pieces,  and  Froissart's  poetical  works  are 


POETRY — RUTEBEUF,    VILLON.  327 

numerous,  the  reader  seeks  in  vain  for  the  accents  of 
patriotism,  for  an  expression  of  honest  indignation  at 
the  sight  of  the  misfortunes  from  which  France  is 
suffering.  Poetry  has  become  merely  a  j(^u  d'esprit, 
an  agreeable  pastime,  so  much  so,  in  fact,  that  even 
Charles  d'Orleans,  whose  father  had  been  murdered, 
who  had  lost  a  tenderly  beloved  wife,  and  who  was 
himself  a  captive  in  England,  seldom  rises  to  the 
utterance  of  true  feeling  in  his  otherwise  graceful  and 
harmonious  poetry.  As  Charles  d'Orleans  was  the 
last  songster  of  mediaeval  chivalry,  so  Francois  Villon 
appears  as  the  last  representative  of  the  popular  muse. 
Before  him,  Rutebeuf  had  given  the  example  of  a  deep 
and  natural  vein  of  poetry;  he  walked  in  his  footsteps 
but  surpassed  him  both  b\- the  scandals  of  his  life  and 
the  excellence  of  his  compositions.  Xecessit}',  he 
says,  had  driven  him  to  commit  actions  of  which  he 
felt  thoroughly  ashamed. 

"  Necessite  fait  gens  mesprendre. 
Et  faim  saillir  le  loup  des  bois." 

The  excuse  is  a  common  one,  and  we  remember  how, 
two  centuries  later,  in  Moliere's"  Fourberies  de  Scea- 
pin,"  Argante  asks  the  impudent  servant  whether  it  is 
any  justification  for  a  man  who  has  committed  every 
possible  crime  to  sa)'  that  Jie  has  been  urged  on  by 
necessity.  At  any  rate,  if  Villon  escaped  the  gallows, 
it  was  thanks  to  the  personal  interference  of  Louis 
XI.,  and  he  lived  long  enough  to  write  that  charming 
"  Ballade  des  Dames  du  temps  jadis,"  the  well-known 
refrain  of  which 

"  Mais  oil  sont  les  neiges  d'antan  ?  "  {ante  annuni) 


328  7//.S  I'ORIANS — MONSTKELET. 

would  have  done  honour  to  the  most  accompHshed 
poet. 

If  we  now  turn  to  chroniclers,  historians,  and  an- 
nalists, we  find  ourselves  face  to  face,  on  the  contrary, 
with  a  group  of  writers  all  more  or  less  remarkable  ; 
and  indeed  the  invasion  of  France  by  the  English, 
the  Civil  Wars,  the  downfall  of  the  house  of  Bur- 
gundy, are  events  which  appealed  in  the  most  powerful 
manner  to  the  talent  of  all  those  who  had  powers  of 
observation  and  who  could  wield  a  pen.  Enguerrand 
deMonstrelet,the  continuator  of  Froissart,is  extremely 
dull,  we  grant  ;  but  who  would  not  appear  dull  when 
com;:)ared  with  the  brilliant  curate  of  Lestines?  On 
the  oth'jr  hand,  Monstrelet,  we  unhesitatingly  say,  is 
exact,  accurate  ;  he  takes  pains  to  procure  the  best 
information,  and  a  modern  critic  who  dismisses  him 
with  the  contemptuous  epithet  of  registi'ar  (grefifier). 
forgets  that  a  registrar  commits  to  paper  what  he 
actually  sees,  which  after  all  is  the  principal,  the 
indispensable  quality  of  an  historian.  Froissart's 
chronicles  take  us  from  the  year  1326  to  the  close  of 
the  fourteenth  century  ;  Monstrelet's  narrative,  divided 
into  two  books,  describes  the  events  which  happened 
between  1400  and  1444. 

After  having  named  the  two  authors  to  whom 
we  have  just  alluded,  most  critics  go  at  once  to 
Philip  de  Commines,  and  leave  George  Chastel- 
lain  and  Thomas  Basin  unnoticed  ;  and  yet  Chas- 
tellain  is  in  every  way  superior  to  Monstrelet  ;  a 
thorough  Boiirgiiignoii  by  his  political  sympathies, 
he  aimed  at  combining  with  artistic  colouring  a  due 
attention  to  details,  and  the  faithful  description  of  the 


CHASTELLAIN — BASIN.  329 

events  which  were  going  on  under  his  eyes.  His 
principal  work  is  the  h'fe  of  Philip  the  Good,  un- 
fortunately incomplete.  If  Monstrelet  is  tedious  by 
his  dulness,  Chastellain  is  wearisome  from  aiming  at 
grandiloquence.  He  had  begun  his  literary  career  as 
a  poet,  and  the  following  lines  are  a  fair  specimen  of 
the  bombast  in  which  he  was  particularly  fond  of 
indulging  : 

"  Muse,  en  musant  en  ta  douce  musette, 
Donne  louange — et  gloire  celestine 
Au  dieu  Phebus,  a  la  barbe  roussette." 

Chastellain's  chronicle  is  written  in  the  same  style ; 
monotonous  in  poetry,  it  becomes  intolerable  in  prose. 
Thomas  Basin's  experiences  as  an  historian  are 
rather  singular  ;  he  was  a  great  friend  of  Charles  VH. 
and,  on  the  contrary,  he  managed  to  draw  down  upon 
himself  the  hatred  of  Louis  XL,  who,  on  three  diffe- 
rent occasions,  found  him  thwarting  his  political  com- 
binations. This  was  a  crime  which  the  astute  king 
could  not  forgive,  and  the  unfortunate  Basin,  Bishop 
of  Lisieux,  was  driven  from  his  see,  persecuted  in 
the  most  odious  manner,  and  obliged  to  leave  his 
native  country.  By  way  of  revenge  he  composed  in 
Latin  the  biographies  of  Charles  VH.  and  Louis  XL, 
praising  the  former  beyond  what  he  deserved,  and 
painting  the  latter  under  the  most  repulsive  colours. 
These  works,  published  as  the  production  of  a  certain 
Amelgard,  are  worth  reading,  because,  notwithstand- 
ing the  author's  gross  partiality,  they  contain  a  num- 
ber of  interesting  and  authentic  details.  It  is  only 
quite  recently  that  the  name  of  Amelgard  has  been 
discovered   to   be   a   mere   fiction,  and    that    Bishop 


330 


COMMINES. 
had    his    claims    as   a   biographer   duly 


Basin    has 
restored. 

We  now  come  to  t/ie  historian  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  first  really  philosophic  historian  France 
can   boast  of,  Philip  de  Commines,   Sire  d  Argenton, 


m 


rilll.ir    DE    COMMINES. 

the  devoted  friend  and  passionate  admirer  of  Louis 
XI.  Originally  a  servant  of  Charles  the  Bold,  his 
methodical,  astute,  and  scheming  nature  was  incom- 
patible with  the  capricious,  rash,  headstrong  character 


LOUIS   XI.   AND   COM  MINES.  33 1 

of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  whereas  it  suited  that  of  the 
French  monarch.     Philip    de    Commines    and  Louis 
XI.  complete  each  other,  and  are  the  perfect  embodi- 
ment of  the  fifteenth  century.     The  particular  line  of 
political  conduct  which  has  since  been  called  Machia- 
vellian was  then   prevalent  at   the   court  of  all    the 
European  princes,  and  the  Sire  d'Argenton  belonged 
essentially  to  the  school  of  Machiavel.     He  therefore 
is  very  indulgent  for  the  crimes  of  his  master,  and  has 
an  excuse  for  all  his  tricks,  provided  they  are  cleverly 
carried  out  ;  na}-,  they  seem  to  him  more  deserving  of 
praise  than  of  blartie.      His  ideas  of  right  and  wrong 
were   those   of   his   contemporaries  ;  but    he  remains 
unequalled  as  an  interpreter  of  events,  and  a  judge  of 
character  ;  no  one  has  combined  to  a  greater  extent 
common    sense   and    cleverness.       If  we    look    upon 
Commines  as  a  mere  writer,  we  find  in  his  chronicles 
all  the  marks  which  characterize  an  epoch  of  transi- 
tion.    The  genius  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  that  of  the 
Renaissance  are  blended  together.     A  modern  critic 
has   observed   that    he  did    not   know    the   classical 
languages,  and  the  few  Latin  forms  which  are  to  be 
met   with   in   his   style   come  not   from  the  study  of 
books,  but  from  the  colloquial  habits  of  those  amongst 
whom  he  lived.      He  thus  avoided  the  pedantry  which 
spoils  the  chronicles  of  George  Chastellain,  and  which 
makes  the  greater  part  of  the  fifteenth-century  authors 
so  painful  to  read.     Finally,  we  must  not  forget  that 
Commines  was   a  shrewd  politician  ;  carr}'ing  on  the 
designs  of  Louis  XL,  he   contributed  to  found   the 
national    unity  of  France,   and  would  have  made  of 
Flanders  a  French  province,  if  he  had  had  his  own  way. 


332  TALES— "  LES    CENT   NOUVELLES  NOUVELLES." 

Besides  chroniclers,  a  certain  number  of  minor  prose 
writers  flourished  about  the  same  epoch.  The  fashion 
of  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  telling  short  stories  and 
questionable  anecdotes  had  penetrated  into  France 
from  the  other  side  of  the  Alps,  and  Boccaccio  found 
imitators  at  the  court  of  the  dukes  of  Burgundy. 
The  "  Decameron  "  suggested  the  "  Cent  nouvelles 
nouvelles,"  which  have  been  generally  ascribed  to 
Antoine  de  la  Salle,  author  of  a  pretty  little  tale 
entitled  "  Le  Roman  du  Petit  Jehan  de  Saintre  et  de 
la  Dame  des  belles  cousines."  It  seems  more  probable, 
however,  that  several  collaboratenrs  had  a  share  in  the 
work,  and  that  Louis  XI.  contributed  no  less  than 
eleven  stories  to  the  whole  collection.  It  was  com- 
piled between  1456  and  1461,  when  Louis,  the  Dau- 
phin, was  undergoing  a  voluntary  exile  at  Dijon. 

We  possess  abundant  evidence  to  show  that  lite- 
rature was  .seriously  encouraged  in  France  since  the 
reign  of  Charles  V.  Catalogues  have  been  handed 
down  to  us  proving  that  libraries  existed  in  a  number 
of  baronial  residences  and  the  collection  of  the  Louvre 
numbered  11 74  works,  a  large  amount  for  the  four- 
teenth century. 

The  origin  of  the  French  drama  belongs  to  this 
part  of  our  subject.  We  have  already  glanced  at  it  in 
a  previous  chapter  ;  but  it  requires  to  be  examined 
here  somewhat  in  detail.  Whether  we  study  the 
theatre  from  its  .serious  side,  or  consider  it  as  a 
humorous  picture  of  every- day  life,  whether  we  deal 
with  tragedy  or  comedy,  we  find  it  persisting  amidst 
revolutionsand  political  disturbances, dynastic  changes, 
civil  and  foreign  warfare.     In  the  squares  and  public 


THE   DRAMA.  333 

place=;.  in  cburches  and  chapels,  in  princeh'  residences 
and  baronial  hails,  everywhere  the  drama  found  its 
way,  grave  or  comic  as  the  case  might  be  ;  and  it  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  the  services  of  the  Church 
formed  a  kind  of  dramatic  exhibition,  combining 
interest  and  edification.  Without  going  back  to  the 
days  of  Hroswitha,  the  learned  nun  of  Gandersheim 
who,  during  the  tenth  century  composed  six  Latin 
comedies  after  the  style  of  Terence  ;  without  seeking 
the  origins  of  the  French  stage  in  the  works  of  Rute- 
beuf,  the  "  Jeu  d'Aucassin  et  de  Nicolete,"  and  the  "  Dit 
de  Marcol  et  de  Salomon,"  we  shall  name  first  Jean 
Bodel  and  x'\dam  de  la  Halle  as  the  real  fathers  of  the 
French  theatre.  The  former,  in  the  "Jeu  de  Saint 
Nicolas,"  gave,  as  we  have  seen,  a  definite  and  regular 
form  to  the  serious  drama;  whilst  the  "Jeu  de  la 
Feuillie  "  by  the  latter  is  nothing  else  but  an  amusing 
comedy.  Both  poets  belonged  to  the  thirteenth 
century. 

The  best  critics  have  classified  as  follows  the  pro- 
ductions of  mediaeval  dramatic  literature  : 

a.  The  foremost  rank  belongs  by  right  to  the  7uj's- 
terics  or  miracle  plays  performed  by  the  Confreres  de  la 
Passion,  a  brotherhood  or  guild  of  pious  artizans  who 
devoted  their  leisure  to  the  edification  and  entertain- 
ment of  the  faithful.  This  first  attempt  to  organize  a 
kind  of  theatre  was  strictly  prohibited  by  the  Provost 
of  Paris  in  1398,  but  the  "brotherhood  "  appealed  to 
the  king,  and  obtained  on  the  4th  of  December,  1402, 
letters  patent  authorizing  them  to  give  representations 
in  the  metropolis.  We  cannot  attempt  to  gi\'e  a  list 
of  the  mysteries  which  make  up  the  repertoire  of  the 


334      '^^^   BASOCHE — "  ENFANTS   SANS   SOC/C/S.'* 

Confreres  de  la  Passion  ;  let  us  name  the  principal — the 
"  Mystere  de  la  Passion  "  by  Arnoul  Greban,  divided 
into  t\\&\\\.y  journees  and  extending  to  40,000  lines. 

b.  The  farces  or  pieces  farcies,  so  called  from  the 
farcita  epistola  in  macaronic  Latin,  may  be  mentioned 
next  ;  they  were  satirical  pieces,  pictures  of  society 
always  most  amusing  and  not  unfrcquently  very  objec- 
tionable. The  actors  who  thus  undertook  to  denounce 
the  vices,  foibles  and  ridicules  of  their  neighbours  were 
a  set  of  lawyers'  clerks,  known  by  the  name  of  Clercs 
de  la  Basoche,  the  Basoche  (Basilica?  ^at,w,  oIko^T), 
designating  then  the  chief  law  court  of  Paris.  The 
fraternity  of  the  Basoche  was  sanctioned  by  Philip 
the  Fair  as  a  regular  corporation,  and  they  obtained  in 
J  303  the  right  of  electing  from  amongst  their  body  a 
chief,  who  was  styled  roi  de  la  Basoche.  Their  per- 
formances contrasted  most  strongly  with  those  of  the 
confreres  de  la  Passion,  and  soon  obtained  an  amount 
of  popularity  which  proved  fatal  to  the  serious  drama. 
The  mysteries  were  both  too  edifying  and  too  long, 
and  five  hundred  lines  were  the  utmost  that  a 
Parisian  audience  could  put  up  with.  A  catalogue  of 
mediaeval  farces  is  as  impossible  as  one  of  miracle 
plays  ;  the  best  of  them  is  the  immortal  Farce  de 
/•rt/^/z;?,  the  authorship  of  which  is  ascribed  by  some  to 
Pierre  Blanchet,  by  others  to  Antoine  de  la  Salle, 
whom  we  have  already  named. 

c.  The  Enfants  sans  soncis  remain  to  be  described. 
Under  the  direction  of  a  leader  called  le  prince  des  sots, 
they  started  as  a  dramatic  company  during  the  reign 
of  Charles  VI.  and  performed  comic  pieces  named 
s  ties,  which   were  similar  to  the  farces  in  style  and 


PJERRP.    GRIi\GORE.  535 

character.  The  most  distinguished  amongst  the 
Prince  dcs  sots  was  Pierre  Gringore  or  rather  Gringon, 
who  lived  during  the  latter  part  of  the  fifteenth  century 
and  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth.  The  following 
amusing  piece  of  poetry  is  a  kind  of  advertisement 
or  appeal  to  the  play-going  public  : 

' '  Sotz  lunatiques,  sotz  estourdis,  sots  sages, 
Sotz  de  villes,  de  chasteaux,  de  villages, 
Sotz  rassotes,  sotz  nyais,  sotz  sublilz, 
Sotz  amoureux,  sotz  prives,  sotz  saiivages, 
Sotz  vieux,  nouveaux,  et  sotz  de  toutes  ages, 
Sotz  barbares,  estrangers  et  gentilz, 
Sotz  raisonnables,  sotz  pervers,  sotz  restifz, 
Vostre  prince,  sans  nulles  intervalles, 
Le  mardi  gras,  jouera  ses  jeux  aux  Halles." 

After  having  thus  given  an  idea  of  the  mediaeval 
drama,  we  need  hardly  tell  our  readers  that  at  an 
epoch  and  in  a  cotmtry  where  the  satirical  vein  was 
always  tempted  to  go  beyond  proper  limits,  both  the 
"  Clercs  de  la  Basoche  "  and  the  "  Enfants  sans  soucis," 
had  no  scruple  to  turn  into  ridicule  lords,  kings,  pre- 
lates, nay,  even  the  Pope  himself.  Thus  Gringore's 
'•  L'Homme  obstine  "  was  directed  against  Julius  II., 
the  "  Farce  des  frere  Guillebert  "  attacked  the  monks. 
We  have  already  alluded  to  the  "  P>anc-archer  de 
Bagnolet."  The  Basochians  carried  their  freedom  of 
speech  so  far  that  their  performances  were  suppressed, 
and,  .n  1540,  a  i-oyal  edict  was  published  threatening 
with  the  gallows  any  person  or  persons  bold  enough 
to  venture  upon  any  dramatic  representations. 

The  introduction  into  F'rance  of  the  art  of  printing 
is  so  important  an  event  that  we  must  dwell  upon  it 
here  at  some  length.     Charles  VII.  had  commissioned 


336  ART  OF  PRINTING. 

(1458)  one  of  the  best  engravers  of  the  Paris  mint, 
Nicolas  Jenson,  to  go  and  study  the  mysteries  of 
typography  at  Mentz.  But  whether  Jenson  dreaded 
tlie  spite  of  Louis  XL,  who  persecuted  the  late  king's 
favourites,  or  from  some  other  reason  with  which  we 
are  not  acquainted,  he  went  to  Italy  and  settled  at 
Venice.  It  was  towards  the  end  of  1469  that  two 
distinguished  members  of  the  university  of  Paris, 
Guillaume  Fichet  and  Jean  Heynlin  sent  to  Germany 
for  three  printers  who  had  served  as  prentices  at  Mentz, 
namely,  Ulrich  Gering,  Michael  Triburger,  and  Martin 
Crantz.  On  their  arrival  in  Paris  they  were  provided 
with  accommodation  for  themselves  and  their  tools  in 
the  very  buildings  of  the  Sorbonne  where  they  re- 
mained till  the  year  1473,  when  they  moved  to  the 
Rue  Saint  Jacques,  at  the  sign  of  the  Golden  Sun. 
They  soon  had  many  rivals  in  Paris,  and  the  art  of 
printing,  encouraged  by  Louis  XL,  spread  quickly 
from  one  end  of  France  to  the  other.  Presses  were 
set  up  at  Metz  (1471),  Lyons  (1473),  Angers  (1477), 
Poitiers  (1479),  Caen  (1480),  Troyes  (1483),  Rennes 
(1484),  Abbeville  (i486),  Besangon  (1487),  Toulouse 
(1488),  Orleans  (1490),  Dijon  and  Angouleme  (1491}, 
Nantes  (1493),  Limoges  (1495),  Tours  (1496),  Avignon 
(1497),  Perpignan  (1500).  It  would  be  interesting  to 
know  what  was  the  first  printed  book  written  /;/ 
FrencJi,  but  this  we  cannot  determine  ;  however,  the 
earliest  French  printed  book,  bearing  a  certain  date, 
is  the  "  Recueil  dcs  histoires  de  Troye,"  composed  by 
Raoul  le  Fure,  chaplain  to  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
Philip  the  Good  ;  we  know  that  it  was  printed  before 
1467,  but  from  what  presses  it  was  issued  is  a  matter 


ARCHITECTURE.  337 

of  doubt.  The  first  French  book  printed  in  Paris 
and  dated  is  the  "  Grandes  Chroniques  de  France," 
issued  in  1476  (1477,  New  Style)  by  Paquier  Bon- 
homme. 

The  cultivation  of  fine  arts,  which  had  been  so 
splendidly  carried  on  during  the  age  of  Saint  Louis, 
was  not  neglected  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  a 
number  of  beautiful  specimens  of  ecclesiastical,  poli- 
tical, and  civil  architecture  could  be  named  testifying 
to  the  skill  and  genius  of  French  builders.  As  far  as 
churcJies  are  concerned,  the  fifteenth  century  cannot 
boast,  indeed,  of  many  new  monuments  ;  the  energy 
of  the  architects  was  rather  reserved  for  the  comple- 
tion and  perfecting  of  structures  already  begun,  and 
of  which  only  the  indispensable  portions  were  available 
for  the  necessities  of  public  worship.  Thus  the  nave 
of  the  Cathedral  of  Troyes,  the  Church  of  Saint 
Ouen  at  Rouen,  the  chief  portal  of  Bayeux  Cathedral, 
the  Church  of  Treguier,  the  Cathedral  of  Strasburg. 
It  is  curious  to  notice  how  certain  local  influences 
affected  the  erecting  and  ornamentation  of  churches, 
chapels,  &c.  Thus  in  Guienne,  the  English  style  is 
distinctly  perceptible  ;  in  Provence,  one  may  note  the 
influence  of  the  Papal  Court  of  Avignon. 

Under  the  general  title  of  political  architecture  we 
include  town-halls,  prisons,  and  fortresses.  We  have 
seen  already  that  the  northern  provinces  were  the 
chief  seats  of  municipal  life  ;  during  the  fifteenth 
century  a  perfect  crop  of  guildhalls  sprang,  so  to  say, 
from  the  ground  at  Arras,  Bethune,  Douai,  Saint 
Ouentin,  Saint  Omer,  Noyon,  Compiegne;  we  are  only 
alluding,  of  course, to  those  built  on  French  soil.  Dreux, 


338  PAINTING. 

Evreux,  Orleans,  and  Sauniur  can  also  be  named  in 
connection  with  that  part  of  our  review.  If  we  now  turn 
to  the  subject  of  prisons,  it  will  suffice  to  mention  the 
famous  Bastile  of  Paris,  which  has  played  so  im- 
portant a  part  in  the  history  of  France.  Begun  in 
1369,  by  Hugues  Aubriot,  provost  of  the  city,  it  was 
completed  in  the  course  of  twenty  years,  and  its 
originator,  it  is  said,  was  the  first  person  confined 
within  its  walls. 

Monuments  of  mv/ architecture  abound:  at  Rouen, 
the  Hdtel  de  Bourgtheroulde  ;  at  Bourges,  the  Hotel 
of  Jacques  Coeur  ;  at  Tours,  the  Hotel  de  Briconnet  ; 
in  Paris,  the  Hotels  de  Sens  and  de  Cluny.  Most  of 
those  elegant  structures  show  us  symptoms  of  the 
approaching  Renaissance,  by  the  combination  of  the 
severe  Gothic  style  with  a  more  graceful  and  ornate 
system  of  design  and  embellishment.  Painting  in  its 
various  applications  to  glass,  wood,  plaster,  and  MSS., 
should  not  be  forgotten  ;  Colart  de  Laon  and  Jean 
Fouquet  are  two  from  a  long  list  which  we  could 
easily  have  extended.  The  latter  was  one  of  the 
most  accomplished  miniaturists  whom  France  could 
boast  of  In  the  collection  of  the  Paris  National 
Library  is  to  be  found  a  MS.  of  Josephus  translated 
into  French.  It  was  written  in  1416  for  the  Duke  de 
Berri  who  caused  it  to  be  illustrated,  at  the  beginning 
with  three  large  miniatures  The  volume,  unfinished, 
came  into  the  possession  of  Jacques  d'Armagnac, 
Duke  de  Nemours,  who  was  beheaded  in  1477  t)y 
order  of  Louis  XI.  This  lord  completed  the  decora- 
tions oi  the  book  by  inserting  eleven  other  paintings, 
each  of  which  is  a  masterpiece  ;  from  the  Armagnac 


r LAYING    CARDS.  339 

family,  the  MS.   passed   into  that  of  the  Dukes  de 
Bourbon,  and  is  now  the  property  of  the  State. 

Playing  cards  may  fairly  be  regarded  as  a  branch 
of  illumination,  and  as  they  are  connected  with  the 
reign  of  Charles  VI.  we  shall  mention  them  here.  In 
an  account  or  memorandum  of  payments  made  up  in 
1392  by  the  treasurer,  Charles  Poupart,  we  find  the 
painter,  Jacquemin  Gringonneur,  alluded  to  as  having 
received  fifty-six  sols  parisis  in  payment  for  three 
packs  of  cards  in  gold  and  colours  with  various  de- 
vices. A  seventeenth-century  critic.  Father  Menetrier, 
has  hastily  concluded  from  that  passage  to  the  in- 
vention of  playing  cards  by  Gringonneur ;  but,  in  the 
first  place,  it  may  be  observed  that  cards  are  mentioned 
in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  Antoine  de  la  Salle's 
"Petit  Jehan  de  Saintre,"  and,  in  the  next,  the  descrip- 
tion given  by  Poupart  of  the  three  packs  supplied  to 
King  Charles  VI.,  clearly  shows  that  playing  cards 
were  in  use  before  the  days  of  Gringonneur  ;  although 
they  may  have  been,  and  probably  were,  inferior  in 
make  and  in  quality. 

Nor  is  it  more  accurate  to  say,  with  the  Abbe  Bullet, 
that  if  Gringonneur  did  not  actually  invent  cards,  they 
are  nevertheless  of  French  origin  (i  3/6-1 379),  and 
that  from  France  they  passed,  in  the  first  instance,  into 
Spain,  then  successively  into  Italy,  England,  and  the 
rest  of  Europe.  The  fact  that  flcurs-dc-lys  occur  on 
the  costumes  of  the  court  cards,  that  the  name  of 
Charlemagne  has  been  given  to  the  king  of  hearts, 
and  that  the  four  knaves  are  called  after  four  of  the 
most  distinguished  PVench  medic-eval  paladins  proves 
nothing  whatever   in  support   of  Bullet's  hypothesis 


340  INDUSTRY   AND    COMMERCE. 

because  the  Parisian  artist  who  adapted  the  original 
images  to  the  latitude  of  France  and  the  court  of 
Charles  VI.  could  easily  change  the  names  of  the 
figures  and  modify  their  costumes. 

Industry  and  commerce  rose  to  great  prosperity 
during  the  fifteenth  century,  and  we  have  evidence  to 
show  that  articles  of  luxury  were  abundant  in  the 
houses,  not  on'y  of  princes,  but  of  well-to-do  bourgeois- 
Trades-Guilds  and  corporations  protected  with  great 
severity  the  rights,  privileges,  and  constitution  of  the  nu- 
merous industries  which  supplied  at  that  time  the  wants 
of  the  population,  and  if  the  institution  of  these  guilds 
resulted  in  creating  privileged  classes,  and  in  excluding 
the  very  poor  from  trades  where  they  might  otherwise 
have  exercised  their  skill,  yet  it  secured  perfection 
of  work,  honest  dealing,  and  the  total  absence  of  those 
degrading  frauds  which  result  from  over-competition. 
Another  most  important  result  in  the  system  of  cor- 
porations was  that  by  limiting  the  number  of  trades- 
men and  mechanics,  it  furthered  indirectly,  but  most 
eTeclually,  the  cause  of  agriculture,  as  it  lessened  the 
inducements  which  the  rural  populations  might  have 
had  to  flock  to  towns. 

In  thus  tracing  the  progress  of  intellectual  and 
social  life  during  the  fifteenth  century,  we  must  notice 
that  gradually  a  new  spirit  had  come  over  European 
civilization,  and  that  new  influences  were  at  work 
substituting  themselves  to  the  traditions  of  the  Middle 
Ages.  Till  then  Rome  had  been  regarded  as  the 
centre  of  the  moral  world,  and  for  the  solution  of  the 
manifold  problems  which  affect  the  life  of  man  all  eyes 
were  turned  towards  the  Vatican.     Now,  however,  that 


THE   RENAISSANCE.  34I 

by  the  means  of  war,  commercial  intercourse,  and  diplo- 
matic arrangements,  frequent  and  easy  intercourse 
was  established  between  France  and  Italy,  the  prestige 
which  had  for  so  many  ages  surrounded  Roman 
Catholicism  had  begun  to  wear  away.  What  right, 
some  inquirers  boldly  said,  has  the  Pope  to  put  forth 
his  pretensions  as  the  vicar  of  God  on  earth  ?  Why 
should  we  feel  bound  to  obey  blindly  the  dictates  of 
men  who  o'ten  lead  the  most  scandalous  lives,  and 
whose  conduct  is  actuated  by  the  grossest  ambition 
and  the  most  unblushing  rapacity  ?  What  intellectual 
benefit  can  we  derive  from  a  teaching  the  outcome  of 
which  is  the  scholastic  nonsense  of  an  Ockham  or  a 
Buridan  ? 

The  questions  we  have  thus  put  are,  every  one  must 
acknowledge,  difficult  to  be  answered,  and  well  calcu- 
lated to  perplex  the  weak  and  the  unlearned.  Then 
the  most  casual  observer  could  not  help  noticing  that 
the  Romish  Church  towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century  was  like  a  house  divided  against  itself.  If  the 
Popes  were  right,  the  corporations  and  small  societies, 
which  aimed  at  high  spiritual  life  and  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  works  of  practical  piety,  were  wrong. 
Now,  could  this  be  admitted  for  a  moment  ? 

Whilst  the  whole  of  Europe  was  tossed  about  by 
uncertainty  respecting  the  highest  problems  of  our 
nature,  the  Renaissance  movement  dawned  upon  the 
world,  and  a  fresh  element  was  thus  introduced  into 
the  apparently  insoluble  difficulty.  Socrates,  Aristotle, 
Plato, Epictetus,  Seneca,  Cicero  began  for  the  first  time 
to  be  studied  and  appreciated  ;  now  the  question  would 
naturally  suggest  itself — Were  all  these  men,  patterns 


342 


THE   REFORMATION. 


of  virtue  and  of  wisdom,  condemned  to  everlasting 
destruction  from  the  fact  that  they  were  born  beyond 
the  influence  of  Christianity  ?  Further,  are  not  the 
principles  which  actuated  them  in  their  noble  lives 
quite  good  enough  for  us,  and  need  we  go  to  other 
sources  for  direction  and  advice  ? 

The  field  of  discussion,  we  notice,  had  thus  become 
considerably  widened,  and  from  challenging  the 
authority  of  the  Pope,  men  had  arrived  to  call  in 
question  the  authority  of  Christianity  itself  It  is  on 
such  a  state  of  things  as  this  that  the  epoch  closed 
which  we  have  undertaken  to  describe,  so  far  as  France 
is  concerned.  The  Middle  Ages  had  done  their  work, 
and  it  now  remained  for  society  to  apply  itself  to  the 
perplexing  but  noble  task  of  borrowing  from  the  past 
what  was  really  worth  retaining,  and  making  of  it  a 
considerable  element  in  the  new  order  of  things. 


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